The confession in the non-prosecution agreement and its (in)evidentiary value in civil liability actions

Abstract

This article investigates the possibility of using the confession made in the Non-Prosecution Agreement (ANPP), provided for in Article 28-A of the Brazilian Code of Criminal Procedure, as evidence in civil liability lawsuits. Based on the jurisprudential analysis of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), the legal nature of this confession and its evidentiary effects outside the criminal sphere are examined. A qualitative and dogmatic approach is adopted, with an analytical-critical bias, through the survey and interpretation of decisions handed down between 2022 and 2025. The findings point to a predominantly restrictive tendency that conditions its admissibility on the production of additional evidence, safeguarding the adversarial system and the right to a full defense in the civil court. It is concluded that, although the confession may serve as a relevant indication, it does not, by itself, possess sufficient evidentiary value to justify civil liability.