The use of messaging apps (WhatsApp) for summons in Brazilian criminal procedure and its compatibility with the right to a fair trialThe article presents a study on the right to service of process as a logical consequence and prerequisite of the right to a fair trial. From this starting point, it seeks to understand whether the loosening of procedural requirements for summons, particularly with the growing use of messaging apps without legal provision, is compatible with the accusatory criminal procedure. A qualitative methodology is employed, based on empirical data, by collecting rulings from Brazilian higher courts (STJ and STF) on the use of WhatsApp for summons to investigate how this issue has been addressed. The following questions are explored: how did the acceptance of the relaxation of summons formalities in the higher courts’ jurisprudence develop? Is this compatible with the right to a fair trial? In conclusion, the study found that the increasing loosening of procedural requirements for summons is empirically verifiable in the STJ and STF and has been implemented without the necessary precautions, which is incompatible with the right to a fair trial.
Keywords
Summons; WhatsApp; criminal procedure; right to a fair trial