La double incrimination est une condition « classique » en droit pénal international, que l'on trouve formulée dans les instruments normatifs relatifs à la coopération pénale internationale, ainsi que dans ceux consacrés aux compétences extraterritoriales. Dans ces deux domaines la condition de la double incrimination est considérée comme remplie lorsque les faits en question sont punis par les droits internes des deux États concernés (État requérant et État requis, ou État de poursuite et État de commission). Toutefois, l'application de cette condition n'est pas sans poser de difficultés, aussi bien sur un plan substantiel que sur un plan procédural. Des difficultés qui ont conduit les États européens à la remettre en cause, du moins pour partie ; une remise en cause totale de la double incrimination s'avérant, en l'état, impossible. / Double criminality is a “classic” condition in international criminal law, which is found in normative instruments relating to international cooperation in criminal matters, as well as those relating to extraterritorial jurisdiction. In these two fields, the condition of double criminality is considered fulfilled when the conduct in question is punishable under the domestic law of both states (the requesting state and the requested state, or the prosecuting State and the State in which the act was committed). Moreover, the application of this condition continues to pose difficulties, not only in substance but also in procedure. The difficulties have driven the European states to call the condition into question, at least partially; even though a total removal of the condition in its current state is impossible.

Depuis la fin du XXème siècle, le nombre d'enquêtes et de procédures judiciaires civiles et criminelles internationales a considérablement augmenté à cause de la mondialisation de l'économie et de la facilité de transport de personnes et de biens. Toutefois, les normes de coopération juridique internationale, y compris celles existantes entre la France et le Brésil, n'ont pas accompagné cette évolution. En réalité, l'assistance juridique internationale a toujours faiblement fonctionné à cause, notamment, de la défense rigoureuse de la souveraineté étatique, de l'absence de confiance mutuelle et de coordination entre les pays. La distribution de pouvoirs dans la communauté internationale est faite horizontalement, de sorte que les normes d'assistance entre les États sont marquées par la décentralisation et le particularisme. Dans la plupart des régions du monde, l'accomplissement des demandes d'entraide judiciaire est lent et bureaucratisé, en dépit de la signature de nombreux traités bilatéraux et de conventions régionales et mondiales. L'extradition est encore réalisée presque selon la même formule inventée par les égyptiens et les hittites en 1280 av. J.-C .. La commission rogatoire, dont les racines se retrouvent dans les systèmes de la litterœ publicœ romaine et de la lettre de pareatis française, est encore le principal outil d'entraide civile et pénale. Quelques normes qui peuvent être classées comme de première génération prévoient encore l'utilisation de la voie diplomatique indirecte. Les règles de deuxième génération, créées, notamment, à partir de la fin du XXème siècle, ont amélioré la transmission de demandes, à travers les autorités centrales, mais ne résolvent pas tous les problèmes. En fait, seules les normes de l'Union européenne sont véritablement de troisième génération, parce qu'elles privilégient l'envoi direct de demandes d'entraide civile et pénale, la rapide exécution du mandat d'arrêt européen et l'accomplissement d'une grande quantité de jugements civils sans exequatur ou autre procédure intermédiaire. Les normes de coopération juridique franco-brésiliennes, qui découlent des conventions signées en 1996, sont aujourd'hui dépassées et anachroniques. Les règles de droit interne des deux pays qui visent l'assistance internationale sont franchement plus généreuses et plus efficaces que les règles d'origine conventionnelle. L'élaboration de nouvelles conventions surgit ainsi comme une solution envisageable, malgré les énormes défis politiques et juridiques. Évidemment, les conventions éventuellement parrainées par les Nations Unies ou par la Conférence de La Haye qui traitent de la coopération juridique directe semblent plus appropriées à une résolution plus ample des principales questions. Mais rien n'empêche la conclusion de textes régionaux, inter-régionaux ou même bilatéraux, mais leur étendue serait plus restreinte. / Since the end of the twentieth century, the number of international investigations and legal proceedings in civil and criminal matters has grown considerably due to the globalization of the economy and the ease of transportation of people and goods. Nevertheless, the international legal cooperation rules and regulations, including those between France and Brazil, have not kept up with this evolution. In fact, the international legal cooperation has always been flawed, mostly as a result of the rigorous defense of state sovereignty and the lack of mutual trust and coordination among countries. The authority distribution in the international community is made horizontally, thus the norms of assistance among States are marked by decentralization and particularism. In most regions of the world, the enforcement of legal cooperation claims is slow and bureaucratized, despite numerous treaties and bilateral, regional or international conventions. Extradition is still carried out in accordance with practically the same formula invented by the Egyptians and Hittites in 1280 B.C .. The letter of request, which springs from the Roman litterœ publicœ and the French lettre de pareatis, is still the major tool of civil and criminal legal cooperation. Some standards, regarded as first-generation, stipulate the use of indirect diplomatic ways. The second-generation norms established mostly at the end of the twentieth century have improved the transmission of demands through central authorit1es but have not solved all the problems. In fact, only the European Union norms are truly third-generation, since they favor the straight submission of civil and criminal legal cooperation claims, the swift execution of the European arrest warrant and the execution of a large number of civil judgments, with no exequatur or any other intermediate procedure. The French-Brazilian legal cooperation rules, which stem from conventions signed in 1996, are outdated and anachronistic. The rules of internal law of the countries that pursue international cooperation are utterly more generous and effective than those of conventional origin. The elaboration of new conventions thus arises as a significant solution, despite the enormous political and juridical challenges. Naturally, prospective conventions sponsored by the United Nations or by The Hague Convention concerning: direct legal cooperation seem more suitable to a comprehensive solution of the main issues. However, nothing precludes the conclusion of regional, interregional and bilateral texts, even though these will have a smaller reach.

[pt] O aumento do crime organizado transnacional nas últimas três décadas fez com que as autoridades mundiais procurassem novos meios de enfrentar, reprimir e punir organizações cada vez mais poderosas. A soberania estatal impede a intervenção de terceiros nos assuntos internos dos Estados, mesmo quando se trata de delitos de repercussão internacional, impossibilitando a criação um órgão supranacional dotados de poderes para investigar e punir esses delitos. A única resposta encontrada pelos Estados foi o incremento dos tipos e da quantidade de medidas de cooperação internacional em matéria penal. Para isso, fez-se necessário rever os métodos tradicionais de cooperação judicial, outorgando às autoridades encarregadas da persecução penal maior autonomia para cooperar diretamente, sem intervenção judicial. No Brasil, mesmo que de forma mais vagarosa que no resto do mundo, o mesmo vai acontecendo. A tese propõe que a Constituição da República, da legislação infraconstitucional e dos tratados internacionais, que regulam a cooperação em matéria criminal celebrados pelo Brasil, revelam que o Ministério Público Brasileiro, em especial o Ministério Público Federal, tem o dever de cooperar com as autoridades estrangeiras no combate à criminalidade transnacional. É o Ministério Público o principal ator da persecução penal, sendo-lhe inerente papel a atribuição de realizar atos de cooperação internacional. Decisões recentes do Supremo Tribunal Federal e do Superior Tribunal de Justiça negaram a validade de atos de cooperação direta. Apesar disso, persistem fortes argumentos a favor da cooperação pelo MP, mesmo quando a medida solicitada pelo Estado estrangeiro depender da autorização dos órgãos da base do Poder Judiciário. / [en] In the last three decades the world has seen an astonishing rise in transnational organized crime, a challenge that made the International Society search for new ways to prosecute organizations that seem to grow more powerful every day. In International Society, each and every State is an independent and sovereign entity, which means that no other State or international entity may meddle in another Stat s internal affairs. This means that the prosecution of transnational crime cannot be entrusted to an international organ, nor can a State pretend to pursue an offender into another s territory. To overcome this barrier, new and faster methods of international cooperation have been adopted with authorities being granted a greater degree of autonomy to perform acts of mutual legal assistance. The same phenomenon is occurring in Brazil, although in a much slower pace. This doctoral dissertation seeks to establish that the Constitution, Brazilian procedural and criminal laws, and the international treaties to which Brazil is party assign to the Ministério Público - MP, as the autonomous government office in charge of criminal prosecution, the task to assist international authorities in prosecuting transnational crime. Specially at the Federal level, the Ministério Público is the main actor in the investigation and judicial prosecution of criminals, however recent decisions reached by the Supremo Tribunal Federal and the Superior Tribunal de Justiça, Brazil s highest courts, have voided acts of direct cooperation by judicial authorities, raising a lot of questions about the possibility of mutual legal assistance acts by Brazilian authorities. That notwithstanding, there are several arguments which were not presented to those courts that clearly show that the MP has a crucial role to play in international cooperation in criminal matters.