The application of the principle of insignificance by higher courts and its reflections in the research about judicial cases of food and hygiene items thefts in Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

The article analyzes the criteria used by higher courts, especially the Superior Court of Justice and the Federal Supreme Court, in applying the principle of insignificance, with the aim of producing a reflection on its viability in a complex social reality. The data produced during research within the scope of the author's work at the Rio de Janeiro Public Defender's Office on cases of food and hygiene items thefts during the COVID-19 pandemic were analyzed as a way of contributing to this reflection, in to the extent that they brought to light a series of issues that still act as a barrier to the recognition of the principle of insignificance, such as the value, quantity and type of stolen property and the agent's antecedents and criminal history.