The (In) Effectiveness of House Arrest of the Maintenance Debtor in a Pandemic Context

This article presents an analytical approach on the (in) effectiveness of house arrest of the maintenance debtor in a pandemic context. It is evident that, in the face of a sudden change brought about by the covid-19 pandemic, the prison debtor starts to receive the need to develop new techniques and methods to respond to the stimuli of this new Brazilian reality. We begin to discuss instrumental ways to meet the challenge of fulfilling this prison, demanding constant adaptations from jurists in the midst of the present problem experienced. In this context, as Brazilian citizens, one of the most discussed issues at the moment is the house arrest of the debtor, considering that, unlike criminal prison, where the individual is punished for committing an offense in the criminal sphere, the so-called civil prison for food debt has the purpose of compelling the fulfillment of the obligation imposed in court. Thus, the intention of this analysis is to verify how the issue of house arrest is worked, since it can become effective or ineffective for the fulfillment of the obligation. In addition, it is necessary to bring some doctrinal and jurisprudential understandings that glimpse this issue within the explained atypical moment experienced by everyone.