The hiv virus contamination and brazilian criminal law

Abstract

The Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is characterized by an advanced clinical manifestation of infection by the Human Immunodeficient Virus (HIV), causing a progressive immunosuppression, resulting in opportunistic infections, which are defining conditions of the disease in the presence of HIV infection. In Brazil, there is no specific law to punish the intentional transmission of HIV, however, there is doctrine and jurisprudence about the penal type appropriate to the conduct, which causes great legal instability regarding the punitive possibility of the HIV transmitting agent. The objectives of this work are to clarify the hypotheses regarding the penal type of conduct; analyze the fact within the field of criminal law in Brazil and develop arguments about fraud and other elements about the contamination of the HIV virus. The technical procedure used in this article is the bibliographic review, and the methodology is qualitative research. It was concluded, therefore, that in Criminal Law to criminalize a conduct, it is necessary to analyze the deceit, and considering this factor, it is observed that it cannot be clearly stated whether an agent intends to kill aiming at the transmission HIV. According to a recent understanding of the Federal Supreme Court, the conscious transmission of the HIV virus, which generates AIDS, constitutes a serious bodily injury, a crime provided for in Article 129, paragraph 2, of the Penal Code (CP), in case there is no contagion. If there is contagion, the crime is more serious, in accordance with the circumstances it may be a consummated or attempted homicide, or even a personal injury of a serious nature.