Dever e poder agir do especialista: um estudo a partir da atuação da equipe técnica matricial da Vale nos termos da Denúncia / Expert´s duty and capacity do act: a study case of Vale Company’s technical teams by terms of the indictment.

Abstract

The present paper investigates the main categories of criminal omissions of an expert, which has unique knowledge. Many authors have already explored this theme in criminal law studies, from many perspectives, but it still lacks better justifications regarding its legitimacy, particularly in an increasingly complex scenario of shared responsibilities within companies. The analysis uses a case study, supported by the topical method, observing the narrative presented by the State Prosecution’s Office of Minas Gerais against the technical team of the Vale company, which led to the rupture of the dam of the Feijão’s brook. This paper is divided into the following three parts: a) the analysis of the specialist's duty to act; b) the analysis of the capacity to act within business structures; c) the corporate environment of decision-making and its illegitimacy in face of public concernments. In the end, the paper presents critical contributions to the general theory of crime, from a normative perspective, to rethink the mechanisms of liability, as well as the insufficiency of criminal law in the face of the current public regulatory model.