Art. 64. Without prejudice to the provisions of the previous article, the action for compensation for the damage may be proposed in the civil court, against the author of the crime and, if applicable, against the civil responsible (See Law No. 5970 of 1973 ) .
Single paragraph. Once the criminal action has been initiated, the judge of the civil action may suspend its course until the final judgment of that one.
Ex-criminal civil action
Civil action ex delicto : While the previous article, number 63, deals with civil execution ex delicto , the present one deals with civil action ex delicto . This deals with a civil action of knowledge, in which a sentence is sought, which will then be subject to compliance. The expression “ without prejudice to the provisions of the previous article ”, contained in the caput of this provision, means that the offended party does not need to wait for the outcome of the criminal action. He may, before, or during the course of the criminal proceedings, file a civil action, seeking compensation for damages.
The civil responsible: Unlike the execution of the condemnatory criminal sentence, which can only be brought against the convict, the civil action ex delicto may be proposed against the civil responsible. The following are responsible for civil reparation: I – parents, for minor children who are under their authority and in their company; II – the tutor and the curator, for the pupils and curatees, who find themselves in the same conditions; III – the employer or principal, by its employees, servants and agents, in the exercise of the work that competes with them, or because of it; IV – the owners of hotels, inns, houses or establishments where people stay for money, even for education purposes, for their guests, residents and students; V – those who for free have participated in the proceeds of crime, up to the concurrent amount ( article 932 of the Civil Code ).
Suspension of the civil procedure: The sole paragraph of this article 64 says: Once the criminal action has been brought, the judge of the civil action may suspend its course until the final judgment of that one . Article 315 of the CPC and its paragraphs , in turn, determine: “ In the action for compensation for damages, if the knowledge of the merits depends on verification of the existence of a criminal fact, the judge may determine the suspension of the process until the decision is made. criminal justice. If the criminal action is not proposed within a period of three months, counting from the notification of the act of suspension, the effect of the suspension will cease, and the civil judge will be responsible for incidentally examining the previous matter. If a criminal action is proposed, the process will be suspended for a maximum period of one year..” The CPP confers power on the judge without establishing any conditions. The sole paragraph of article 64 of the CPP is revoked. It is a civil procedural rule inserted in the CPP, and which was revoked by article 315 of the CPC, since it is a more recent device. It should be clarified that the suspension of civil proceedings aims to avoid contradictory decisions. As for the interpretations of article 315 of the CPC, they are the most varied. Civil procedure norms are eminently instrumental, and, consequently, are more flexible, elastic. We understand that the maximum period of one year of suspension may be extended whenever any fact capable of excluding civil liability is revealed in the criminal proceedings, and may thus influence the civil action, including those concerning authorship, materiality of the fact, state of necessity, legitimate defense, article 65 of the CPP and article 935 of the CC ).
