In
civil law, a contravention is a lesser offense, similar to an
infraction
A summary offence or petty offence is a violation in some common law jurisdictions that can be proceeded against summarily, without the right to a jury trial and/or indictment (required for an indictable offence).
Canada
In Canada, summary of ...
or
civil penalty
A civil penalty or civil fine is a financial penalty imposed by a government agency as restitution for wrongdoing. The wrongdoing is typically defined by a codification of legislation, regulations, and decrees. The civil fine is not considered ...
in
common law
Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...
countries.
France
Brazil
In
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, contravention is a sort of penal infraction — not only an administrative offense - which is considered to be less serious than a crime.
Since 1941,
Brazilian criminal law
The Brazilian criminal justice system comes from the civil law of Western Europe, in particular Portuguese law, which derives from Roman law. The earliest legal documents in Brazil were land grants and charters dating to the early 16th century, ...
has a dual system which separates penal infractions in two main different acts. They are the
Brazilian Penal Code
The current Penal Code of Brazil () was promulgated in 1940, during the Estado Novo regime, and has been in effect since January 1, 1942. It is the third codification of criminal law in the country's history, succeeding those of 1830 and 1890. ...
(), describing crimes in general, and the , describing the contraventions.
Contraventions are punished less severely than crimes in Brazilian law. While crimes may be punished to (reclusion) or ''detenção'' (detention), the only kind of possible
imprisonment
Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...
for contraventions is (simple prison), which is never served under closed conditions (only open and semi-closed conditions may be applied). Fines may also be imposed due to contravention sentencing.
In Brazilian law, one who is already convicted for a crime is not considered to be
recidivist
Recidivism (; from 'recurring', derived from 'again' and 'to fall') is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have experienced negative consequences of that behavior, or have been trained to extinguish it. Reci ...
when committing a contravention for the first time, and vice versa.
See also
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Comminatory
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Infraction
A summary offence or petty offence is a violation in some common law jurisdictions that can be proceeded against summarily, without the right to a jury trial and/or indictment (required for an indictable offence).
Canada
In Canada, summary of ...
*
Regulatory offences
In criminal law, a regulatory offence or quasi-criminal offence is a class of crime in which the standard for proving culpability has been lowered so a (Law Latin for "guilty mind") element is not required. Such offences are used to deter potenti ...
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Police Tribunal (France)
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References
Works cited
{{Authority control
Civil law legal terminology