Politics · Brazil · 2 hrs ago
Brazil’s environmental crime law struggles to hold large companies criminally responsible
Brazil’s Environmental Crimes Law sets conditions for prosecuting companies for environmental crimes.
Prosecutors must identify a person who committed the offence, link it to a decision by a company representative or governing body, and show that the company benefited.
Those links can be easier to establish at small and medium-sized businesses, where responsibility and decisions may be clearer.
At large companies, decisions can be spread across boards, executives and managers, making it hard to prove who made the required decision.
The article argues that this leaves large corporations harder to hold criminally responsible, even when their operations cause major environmental harm.
It says the law has not fulfilled its aim of punishing large companies responsible for the country’s worst environmental damage.
The author suggests considering whether civil, administrative and regulatory penalties may work better, rather than expanding criminal liability.
Brazil’s Environmental Crimes Law has struggled to hold large companies criminally responsible, an Estadão article argues.
The law requires prosecutors to identify an individual offence, a decision by a company representative or governing body, and a benefit to the company.
The article says those elements are easier to establish at small and medium-sized businesses than at large corporations.
Diffuse decision-making in large companies can make it difficult to identify who made the decision behind environmental damage.
The article says the law has not fulfilled its stated aim of punishing large corporations responsible for the country’s worst environmental damage.
It suggests civil, administrative and regulatory accountability may be more effective ways to address corporate harm.
- Who
- Large companies facing criminal responsibility for environmental offences in Brazil.
- What
- Brazil’s Environmental Crimes Law is said to struggle to hold large companies criminally responsible.
- When
- The article was published on October 24, 2026. It assesses nearly three decades of the law’s application.
- Where
- Brazil.
- Why
- The law requires prosecutors to link an offence to a decision by a company representative or governing body and show that it benefited the company. The article says diffuse decision-making in large corporations makes this difficult.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Brazil’s Environmental Crimes Law, Law No. 9,605, was established.
Estadão published an assessment saying the law had not fulfilled its promise to hold large corporations criminally responsible.
- Law
- Environmental Crimes Law, Law No. 9,605/98
- Criminal liability requirements
- An identifiable individual offence, a decision by a company representative or governing body, and a benefit to the company
- Publication date
- October 24, 2026
- Outlet
- Estadão
What people are saying
quanto mais sofisticada a estrutura de uma empresa, mais difícil se torna responsabilizá-la criminalmente
Vinte e oito anos depois, é preciso reconhecer que a lei não cumpriu essa promessa.