A atuação do Procon-MG sob a ótica da regulação responsiva: uma análise da sistemática da Resolução PGJ n.o 57/2022

Abstract

This study examines the paradigmatic shift in Administrative Enforcement Law, marked by the obsolescence of the classic command-and-control model, which has proven inadequate for safeguarding complex contemporary consumer relations. Framed by the Responsive Regulation Theory and Law and Economics, the research aims to investigate the institutionalization of consensual approaches within Procon-MG, with an analytical focus on Resolution No. 57/2022 of the Prosecutor General's Office (Procuradoria-Geral de Justiça). The findings indicate that the aforementioned regulation successfully structures state enforcement through an Enforcement Pyramid and the behavioral framework of contingent reciprocity (tit-for-tat strategy). The norm prioritizes persuasion and cooperation at its foundational tier while fostering voluntary compliance at its intermediate stratum. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that the efficacy of these dialogical stages intrinsically relies on the benign big gun paradox, namely, the availability of a severe sanctioning prerogative at the apex of the pyramid. This capacity is essential to deter recalcitrance and opportunism by operating as a credible threat. Ultimately, the research concludes that the institutional risks inherent in the shift toward negotiated settlements are effectively neutralized by the normative safeguards and the proceduralization of responsiveness embedded in the resolution. This institutional architecture ensures bargaining in the shadow of the law, steering the process toward comprehensive market reparation under the premises of Restorative Justice.