Brazil: Legal frameworks for criminal actions and ANPP

In Brazil, criminal actions are governed by constitutional principles that grant the right to seek judicial intervention for legal infractions. The legitimacy to initiate these actions is divided between the Public Prosecutor's Office (Ministério Público) for public actions and the victim for private actions. Public actions can be unconditional or conditioned upon the victim's representation, while private actions may become subsidiary to public ones if the Public Prosecutor's Office fails to act within legal timeframes.

The introduction of the Non-Prosecution Agreement (ANPP) has altered the traditional landscape of criminal prosecution. A recent ruling by the 5th Panel of the Superior Tribunal de Justiça (REsp 2.083.823/DF) addressed the intersection of these mechanisms. The court admitted the possibility of an ANPP in cases involving exclusively private actions, granting the Public Prosecutor's Office supplementary legitimacy to propose such an agreement in instances of inertia or unfounded refusal by the complainant.