Introductory considerations on the communicability of personal circumstances in the complicity (article 30, Brazilian Penal Code)

Abstract

This article examines the communicability of personal circumstances in cases of complicity, as provided in article 30 of the Brazilian Penal Code. The discussion begins by addressing the polysemy of the term “crime” and emphasizes the need to interpret “elements of the crime” as components of the wrongful act, comprising both typicity and unlawfulness. The article advocates for a restrictive concept of perpetration, distinguishing perpetrators from accessories, in adherence to the principles of legality and culpability. It disputes the absolute non-communicability of strictly personal conditions, arguing that such a distinction lacks statutory support. In the so-called delicta excepta, communicability hinges on the accurate identification of the violated norm; in special offenses, only the intraneus can directly breach the legal provision defining the offense, while the extraneus operates as an accessory. The article concludes that the communicability of personal circumstances requires the agent’s prior knowledge and that determining culpability depends on correctly identifying the norm of conduct violated.