A prisão civil do devedor de alimentos como garantia do direito fundamental da criança e do adolescente à subsistência no Brasil a dignidade do credor e a restrição de liberdade do devedor

Abstract

This scientific article analyzed civil imprisonment of food debtors as an ins trument for guaranteeing the fundamental right of children and adolescents to subsistence in Brazil, examining the tension between the dignity of the food creditor and the restriction of the debtor's freedom. A qualitative methodology was adopted, with bibliographic and documentary research, through analysis of specialized doctrine, infra-constitutional legisla tion, and jurisprudence from higher courts. It was found that civil imprisonment, of a strictly coercive and non-punitive nature, has constitutional basis in article 5, item LXVII, of the Federal Constitution of 1988, constituting the only remaining exception to the prohibition of imprisonment for debt after the issuance of Binding Precedent No. 25 of the Federal Su preme Court. It was established that its effectiveness depends on the debtor's economic profile, being high when the debtor has payment capacity and refuses to comply, and null when there is genuine financial impossibility. Recent jurisprudence from the Superior Court of Justice was identified as having established constitutional limits to the measure, requi ring analytical reasoning on the term and functional assessment of its adequacy to the specific case. It was concluded that effective protection of children and adolescents' right to subsistence requires the coordinated combination of civil, procedural, and criminal ins truments, including atypical enforcement measures validated by the Federal Supreme Court and the Superior Court of Justice.