The Constitutional Deficiencies of the German 'Rechtsgutslehre'

This paper questions the theoretical merits and constitutional validity of the &ldquo;Rechtsgutslehre&rdquo; (doctrine of the protection of legal goods), a widely held doctrine about the limits of legitimate criminalization in Germany and some other jurisdictions. The immediate cause for this reassessment is a recent decision of the German constitutional court which upheld the German incest prohibition and simultaneously rejected the traditional &ldquo;Rechtsgutslehre&rdquo; as constitutionally irrelevant, thereby stirring up considerable controversy among academic criminal lawyers. The paper tries to show why the court&rsquo;s view is correct by pointing out the main deficiencies of the doctrine and what criteria a better theory must fulfil. Este art&iacute;culo cuestiona los m&eacute;ritos te&oacute;ricos y la validez constitucional de la "Rechtsgutslehre" (doctrina de la protecci&oacute;n de los bienes jur&iacute;dicos), una doctrina muy extendida acerca de los l&iacute;mites de la criminalizaci&oacute;n leg&iacute;tima en Alemania y algunas otras jurisdicciones. La causa inmediata de esta nueva valoraci&oacute;n es una decisi&oacute;n reciente del Tribunal Constitucional alem&aacute;n que ratific&oacute; la prohibici&oacute;n del incesto en Alemania y al mismo tiempo rechaz&oacute; el tradicional "Rechtsgutslehre" por ser constitucionalmente irrelevante, lo que provoc&oacute; una considerable controversia entre la comunidad acad&eacute;mica de abogados criminalistas. El art&iacute;culo trata de mostrar por qu&eacute; la decisi&oacute;n de la corte es correcta, se&ntilde;alando las deficiencias principales de la doctrina y los criterios que una teor&iacute;a m&aacute;s adecuada debe cumplir. DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2200870</p

As deficiências constitucionais da Teoria do Bem Jurídico

Title: The Constitucional Deficiencies of the German "Rechtsgutslehre”Resumo: O presente trabalho questiona os méritos teóricos e a validade constitucional da “Rechtsgutslehre” (teoria da proteção de bens jurídicos), uma teoria amplamente difundida acerca dos limites da criminalização legítima na Alemanha e em outras jurisdições. A causa imediata para esta reanálise é uma decisão recente da Corte constitucional alemã que ratificou a proibição do incesto na Alemanha e ao mesmo tempo rejeitou a tradicional “Rechtsgutslehre” como constitucionalmente irrelevante, o que resultou em considerável controvérsia entre os penalistas. O trabalho tenta demonstrar o porquê a decisão da corte ser acertada, apontando as principais deficiências da teoria, e quais critérios uma teoria mais adequada deve cumprir.Palavras-chave: Limites constitucionais do direito penal, direito penal democrático, proteção de bens jurídicos, legitimidade da punição, Rechtsgutslehre. Abstract: This paper questions the theoretical merits and constitutional validity of the “Rechtsgutslehre” (doctrine of the protection of legal goods), a widely held doctrine about the limits of legitimate criminalization in Germany and some other jurisdictions. The immediate cause for this reassessment is a recent decision of the German constitutional court which upheld the German incest prohibition and simultaneously rejected the traditional “Rechtsgutslehre” as constitutionally irrelevant, thereby stirring up considerable controversy among academic criminal lawyers. The paper tries to show why the court’s view is correct by pointing out the main deficiencies of the doctrine and what criteria a better theory must fulfil.Keywords: Constitutional limits of criminal law, democratic criminal law, protection of legal goods, legitimacy of punishment, Rechtsgutslehre. Título original: The Constitucional Deficiencies of the German "Rechtsgutslehre” Tradução de Lucas Minorell

Comparing Legal Approaches: Mental Disorders as Grounds for Excluding Criminal Responsibility

<span lang="EN-GB">The effect of mental disorders on criminal responsibility seems to be more or less the same in all jurisdictions. However, upon a closer look, the details of the regulatory schemes and the practical effects vary considerably and this discord has increased even more in the past 30 years. This article undertakes a brief comparative survey with a focus on substantive criminal law in order to sketch a normative matrix which shows that </span><span lang="EN-US">there</span><span lang="EN-GB"> are three basic approaches to deal with mental disorders as grounds for excluding criminal responsibility. While psychiatry has made considerable progress over the past 150 years, in providing more humane treatment to mentally ill persons, it is a disturbing observation that the criminal law appears to be significantly less tolerant towards mentally disturbed offenders in modern times than during the previous two millennia.</span

Quem é presumido inocente do que e por quem? = Who is presumed innocent of what by whom?

Publicação original: Criminal Law and Philosophy, v. 8, n. 2, p. 301-316, 2014.Tradução de Lucas Minorelli

As deficiências constitucionais da teoria do bem jurídico

O presente trabalho questiona os méritos teóricos e a validade constitucional da “Rechtsgutslehre” (teoria da proteção de bens jurídicos), uma teoria amplamente difundida acerca dos limites da criminalização legítima na Alemanha e em outras jurisdições. A causa imediata para esta reanálise é uma decisão recente da Corte constitucional alemã que ratificou a proibição do incesto na Alemanha e ao mesmo tempo rejeitou a tradicional “Rechtsgutslehre” como constitucionalmente irrelevante, o que resultou em considerável controvérsia entre os penalistas. O trabalho tenta demonstrar o porquê a decisão da corte ser acertada, apontando as principais deficiências da teoria, e quais critérios uma teoria mais adequada deve cumprir. Palavras-chave: Limites constitucionais do direito penal, direito penal democrático, proteção de bens jurídicos, legitimidade da punição, Rechtsgutslehre. Title: The Constitucional Deficiencies of the German "Rechtsgutslehre” Abstract: This paper questions the theoretical merits and constitutional validity of the “Rechtsgutslehre” (doctrine of the protection of legal goods), a widely held doctrine about the limits of legitimate criminalization in Germany and some other jurisdictions. The immediate cause for this reassessment is a recent decision of the German constitutional court which upheld the German incest prohibition and simultaneously rejected the traditional “Rechtsgutslehre” as constitutionally irrelevant, thereby stirring up considerable controversy among academic criminal lawyers. The paper tries to show why the court’s view is correct by pointing out the main deficiencies of the doctrine and what criteria a better theory must fulfil. Keywords: Constitutional limits of criminal law, democratic criminal law, protection of legal goods, legitimacy of punishment, Rechtsgutslehre.   Título original:  The Constitucional Deficiencies of the German "Rechtsgutslehre”  Tradução de Lucas Minorell

"Allemagne : droit pénal et fin de vie", RSC Revue de science criminelle et de droit pénal comparé, Dalloz, 2020, n° 3, p. 714

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"Chronique de droit pénal constitutionnel allemand"

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