Legal person as victim of criminal defamation

The possibility of a legal person being a victim of criminal defamation has been the subject of a lot of doctrinal and jurisprudential inquiry, raising eager passions. This is because, it is understood that the criminal defamation is an offence against “honor” and “respect” are innate qualities of the human person, so that only the individual could institute criminal proceedings as injured for defamation.

If we look at the content of the Penal Code (PC), namely on the Special Section in Chapter VIII “Crimes against Honor,” it appears that the lawgiver did not address expressly to the possibility of a legal person of private law be victim OF legal type of criminal defamation, made only for entities that exercise public authority.

However, despite the fact that the Law does not expressly refer to legal persons as the object of criminal defamation, we believe, to the best and erudite opinion that the article 229  of the PC applies furthermore to legal persons of private law, namely, with respect to commercial companies. There is no room for doubt that the statement and dissemination of unfavorable information from a legal person can cause your disbelief in the market so far as to, for example, cause loss of goodwill, prestige, reputation or trust and, through it see frustrated the ability to pursue its purpose.

Thus, the prestige, the image and good name, essential personality values inherent in every human being and that are part of the concept of honor in regard to natural persons, are also vital and interrelated when it comes to the legal person in furtherance of its commercial purpose. The “honor” of legal persons is not honor subjective restricted sense applicable to natural persons, but rather the concept should be given a broad interpretation, covering the good name, image, reputation, prestige, credibility, trust put in itself, so that these concepts deserve criminal protection because undeniably the imputation untrue  and offensive facts can affect your reputation and fame in the market.

The word “(…) others (…)” referred to in article 229 CP mean person, covering both natural persons and legal persons, subject to the protection in civil matters (483 and 484, both of the Civil Code). In fact, today, and in this sense that the jurisprudence and doctrine express on this matter, although it is recognized that legal person’s personality rights are limited.

Cristóvão Chauca

Lawyer