Ultima Ratio and the Judicial Application of Law
Gako-hitzak:
Criminalisation, decrimninalisation, dejuridification, impunity, ius puniendi, deontological and utilitarian justifications, alternatives to punishment, ultima ratio, last resort, minimal intervention, rational discourse, guarantees and rights of defense,Laburpena
The nature of Ultima Ratio as a principle, its relationship to other principles in the criminal law is the first subject of this paper. After discarding approaches that deny any role to the ultima ratio principle like the criminal law of the enemy, the major readings of the justification of the ius puniendi – deontological and utilitarian – are related to the idea of a restrained resort to criminalisation and penal sanction. The role of the main protagonists in relation to punishment is next considered: transgressor, community and victim. The issues of impunity and overpunity are also considered in this part. The second part of the paper analyses the possible effects of ultima ratio, a general politico-moral principle mainly addressed to the legislator, on the application of the law by the judges. It is then turned into something closer to a general legal principle. The impact of ultima ratio on the different sub-decisions of the judicial application of the criminal law is spelt out in the decisions on qualification, evidence (inferences), interpretation and consequences in sentencing. Next, the role of ultima ratio on decisions in appeal and in cassation is analysed. The third part and conclusion deals with the main ideologies of ultima ratio and the wider issue of its role in securing a guarantee oriented criminal law in Europe.
En este artículo se aborda, en primer lugar, el carácter de ultima ratio como principio, su relación con otros principios en el derecho penal. Después de descartar los enfoques que rechazan cualquier papel del principio de ultima ratio como el derecho penal del enemigo, las lecturas principales de la justificación del ius puniendi, deontológico y utilitarista, están relacionadas con la idea de un recurso restringido a la criminalización y sanción penal. A continuación, se analiza el papel de los protagonistas principales relacionados con el castigo: transgresor, comunidad y víctima. En esta parte también se tienen en cuenta las cuestiones de impunidad y castigo excesivo. La segunda parte del trabajo analiza los posibles efectos sobre la aplicación de la ley por los jueces del principio ultima ratio, un principio político-moral general, principalmente dirigido principalmente al legislador. El impacto del ultima ratio en las diferentes sub-decisiones de la aplicación judicial del derecho penal se detalla a partir de las decisiones sobre la calificación, evidencia (inferencias), interpretación y consecuencias de las sentencias. A continuación se analiza el papel del ultima ratio en los veredictos de apelación y casación. La tercera parte y conclusión aborda las principales ideologías de ultima ratio y, de forma más amplia, del papel que juega en lograr en Europa un derecho penal orientado al garantimos.
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