A legitimidade da responsabilidade civil e penal dos pais pela prática de atos ilícitos e infracionais cometidos por filhos crianças ou adolescentes

Abstract

This research examines the evolution of the concept of family and parental authority - understood as a set of duties related to vigilance and care - analyzing how this transformation influences the civil and criminal liability of parents for acts committed by their children. The study aims to investigate the legal legitimacy of holding parents civilly and criminally responsible for unlawful or infringing acts perpetrated by children or adolescents. The methodology adopted is qualitative and dissertation-based, grounded in a bibliographic review and an articulated analysis of Constitutional, Civil, Criminal Law, and the Statute of the Child and Adolescent. The findings demonstrate that, in the civil sphere, parental liability is governed by an objective and indirect model (art. 932, I, Civil Code), based on the presumption of failure in supervision. This obligation persists jointly, even in cases of separated parents, and extends to illicit conduct practiced in digital environments. The minor deemed legally incapable holds only subsidiary and mitigated responsibility. In the criminal sphere, although minors are not criminally accountable, the criminal liability of parents is exceptionally admitted when they, as legal guardians, fail to fulfill their duties of care and vigilance (art. 249, ECA), thereby contributing directly to the infringing act. The study concludes that Brazilian law legitimizes parental liability as a reinforcement of the social function of the family, ensuring community protection and the full development of children and adolescents.