THE PRINCIPLE OF INSIGNIFICANCE AND ITS APPLICATION TO THE EXCLUSION OF PUBLIC AGENT LIABILITY IN CRIMES AGAINST THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Abstract

This paper discusses the applicability of the principle of insignificance and the exclusion of liability of public officials for criminal offenses committed by them against the public administration. To this end, a bibliographical review of the subject was conducted to expose the dominant understanding of the higher courts on the subject, the judgments that applied the principle in situations of crimes against the public administration, highlighting the objective and subjective requirements for the applicability of this principle together with proportionality and reasonableness in the concrete case. We point out the importance of the theme in relation to the Public Administration in current times, in which criminal justice seeks to minimize the application of criminal law to conduct that does not represent injury or danger of injury to the legal good protected by law, by choosing the principle of minimum intervention and for reasons of criminal policy. For the elaboration of this article, the inductive method was used, with the techniques of referent, categories, and bibliographic review.