In Balogh, E. (ed.) Golden Bulls and Chartas: European Medieval Documents of Liberties, pp. 15–41. Budapest – Miskolc: Ferenc Mádl Institute of Comparative Law – Central European Academic Publishing, 2023
The Decreta of the kingdom of León was issued by King Alfonso IX in 1188, in the setting of the C... more The Decreta of the kingdom of León was issued by King Alfonso IX in 1188, in the setting of the Cortes of León, a medieval parliamentary body. According to UNESCO, this Cortes represents the first documented example of parliamentarism in history, since the curia regis was extended to incorporate deputies of the relevant citites, thus including representatives of the cities' political forces and merchants. The Decreta is also the first medieval charter of freedoms that has survived (in copies). An analysis of the conditions under which the Decreta was created and the content of this charter of freedom reflects local political conditions, but also universal values.
International Journal for the Semiotics of Law - Revue internationale de Sémiotique juridique, 2023
Freedom of expression is a fundamental part of living in a free and open society and, above all, ... more Freedom of expression is a fundamental part of living in a free and open society and, above all, a basic need of every human being and a requirement to attain happiness. Its absence has relevant consequences, not only for individuals but also for the whole social community. This might explain why freedom of expression was, along with other freedoms (conscience and religion; thought, belief, opinion, including that of the press and other media of communication; peaceful assembly; and association), at the core of liberal constitutionalism, and constitutes, since the Second World War, an essential element of constitutional democracies. In a democracy, people should be allowed to express themselves to others freely. The paper, which is divided into five sections, points out that states are obliged to protect the exercise of that freedom not only because its very purpose is the common good and welfare of society but also because it is a requirement of any constitutional democracy. Otherwise, when people cannot express themselves, perhaps out of fear (not from 'war' but from different kinds of social pressure or 'violence' exerted by some lobbies, mass media, or governmental policies that are at odds with respect for the plurality of opinions), vulnerability arises. This weakens not only those individuals that are not allowed to express their thoughts but also those who do not dare to do it-or even not to think for themselves-under certain environmental pressures (exerted by states, international organizations, social media, or financial groups, lobbies, etc.). In the end, the decline of freedom of expression makes most people more vulnerable and jeopardizes the whole democratic system.
This article offers the legal profession a method to effectuate on behalf of authors, designers, ... more This article offers the legal profession a method to effectuate on behalf of authors, designers, or inventors who are residents of Louisiana (or for Louisiana transactions) the rights recognized by federal law on intellectual property (IP) and unfair competition by activitating the civil law practitioners' stock of solutions with the regular notions of property, contracts, and torts in IP and unfair competition law for fascinating results. Also, it enables civil law academia to teach IP and unfair competition law through regular courses such as property, contracts, and torts and cease to label them as special or sui generis fields of the law.
The ESCLH will celebrate the 10th anniversary of its foundation in the Hague on 5 December 2019. ... more The ESCLH will celebrate the 10th anniversary of its foundation in the Hague on 5 December 2019. The following pages describe and reflect on the contribution of the ESCLH to comparative legal history, analysing the past and the present, while looking to the future, before concluding with some final considerations on what I call the ‘Spirit’ of the ESCLH.
Tulane European and Civil Law Forum, vol. 34, 2019
This Article argues that the classical approach or taxonomy used by comparative lawyers in distin... more This Article argues that the classical approach or taxonomy used by comparative lawyers in distinguishing the common law and civil law traditions has failed in showing that both legal traditions have more similarities than differences. Besides, some of the differences have poisoned the relationship between civil law and common law, giving rise to an inaccurate dichotomy between them. More specifically, this Article refers to the classical concept whereby, according to some comparative lawyers, civil law is linked to codification, whereas common law is not. The author maintains that, if codification has erroneously been considered a peculiarity of the civil law tradition, and hence somehow incompatible with the common law, this is because Napoleon’s codifications have, unfortunately, been presented as the model of civil law codification, a mythical idea and prejudice that have constituted a remarkable obstacle for codification in many common law jurisdictions. This work does not aim at offering a particular notion of codification but at making clear that the French codification is neither the model of the civil law tradition codification, nor the model of the codification method. The author asserts that the time is ripe for legal historians to admit that codification neither belongs to the civil law tradition nor constitutes a peculiarity of the civil law tradition, as if it were incompatible with the common law tradition unless common law itself is abrogated altogether. Thus, there is no abstract model of codification, only codification practices and discourses. It is true that on that empirical basis, one may discuss comparatively these practices and discourses in different jurisdictions, but this should not be done within the framework of a theoretical, mythic—and thus, inexistent—model of codification.
Rev. Fac. Direito UFMG (Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte), 74, 2019
No fue fácil la recepción de las ideas ilustradas y liberales francesas en el contexto de la Guer... more No fue fácil la recepción de las ideas ilustradas y liberales francesas en el contexto de la Guerra de la Independencia (1808-1814), que exigió la defensa de la soberanía de la nación española. El Derecho penal sirvió como instrumento para defender la nación española frente a la invasión francesa merced a la persecución y castigo del delito de traición (o de ‘infidencia’). El presente artículo analiza cómo se reguló este delito en el tránsito del antiguo sistema político absolutista al nuevo de cuño liberal o constitucional, cuyas bases o principios provenían del país invasor, tanto en el ámbito militar como en la esfera jurídico-pública o jurídico-penal. El delito de traición provenía de la categoría crimen laesae maiestatis. Más en concreto, se analiza cómo la transición del Antiguo Régimen al sistema político liberal tuvo importantes consecuencias en la evolución del delito de traición. La principal controversia que suscitó la regulación y persecución del delito de infidencia provino del hecho de que, en el nuevo sistema político, el Estado no estaba por encima del Derecho y la traición sólo podía perseguirse y castigarse con arreglo a la legalidad. Era la primera vez en la historia en la que el crimen laesae maiestatis debía ser regulado y aplicado en el marco de un sistema político distinto al absolutista.
La Constitución mexicana de 1917: estudios jurídicos, históricos y de derecho comparado a cien años de su promulgación (G. Garduño Domínguez & M. Andreu Gálvez, eds.), Ciudad de México: Instituto de Investigaciones Jurídicas – Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), 2019
GLOSSAE. European Journal of Legal History 15, 2018
Continental codes have been presented, following in the French model’s footsteps, as a determinin... more Continental codes have been presented, following in the French model’s footsteps, as a determining technique to achieve legal unification and legal positivism. From this perspective, codes would not be compatible with non-legal sources (custom, judicial precedent, legal doctrine) and with legal diversity. Looking at the Spanish case one comes to the conclusion that these ideas are myths or, at least, are not entirely true. They may be true for the French case or even for other European jurisdictions, but they failed when applied to Spain. This may explain why non-Spanish legal historians and comparative lawyers seem to find it difficult to understand the Codification of Civil law in Spain. On the one hand, the French influenced over the Spanish civil code is exaggerated. On the other, it would be unimaginable that the French civil code would have supposed to be applicable in defect of regional laws or customs, as it is the case in Spain. Besides, the Napoleon code did not recognize explicitly the custom as a legal source, whereas in the Spanish code did. It is undeniable that drafters of the Spanish civil code had in mind and used the French model, but the final outcome was quite unique. Spain shows that codification does not necessarily imply legal unification. In fact, Spain constitutes the only case in which the civil code whose application is just subsidiary, that is, when regional laws do not contain a legal rule applicable to solve a legal dispute. In explaining this from a historical and comparative perspective, non-Spanish scholars usually identify regional laws (Derechos forales) with fueros, customs and local laws, but this is not entirely true. The problem is that no other civil law jurisdictions can be used as a model to describe the Spanish case, which on this matter is unique. The paper focuses on the uniqueness of the Spanish case in codifying its civil law, dispelling some myths and misunderstandings on the notion of codification in general, and on the Spanish civil code in particular.
The Western Codification of Criminal Law: The Myth of its Predominant French Influence Revisited (Aniceto Masferrer, ed.), Dordrecht-Heidelberg-London-New York, Springer (Collection ‘History of Law and Justice’), 2018
Any civil law student knows that most of provisions in any European or Latin American civil code ... more Any civil law student knows that most of provisions in any European or Latin American civil code derive from Roman law, that they were the outcome of a long and gradual scholarly elaboration extending from 12th century glossators to the natural lawyers of the 18th century. However, there is no such consensus about criminal law. The civil law tradition has doubtlessly committed more effort to the scholarly development of private law institutions than to those of public law, privileging civil law over criminal law. The main consequences of this fact are twofold: (i) 19th century criminal jurisprudence is sometimes presented as if had arisen out of the blue, or as if institutions contained in the 19th criminal codes broke with the past or bore no traces of Roman law; and (ii) since criminal codes supposedly broke with the past, the extent and scope of foreign influences—and the French in particular—on the criminal codes in Europe and Latin America are overemphasized. The chapter aims at dispelling this common place, and particularly the myth of the overall French influence in Europe and Latin America.
Las expresiones «delitos sexuales» («sex crimes») y «sexualidades criminales» («criminal sexualit... more Las expresiones «delitos sexuales» («sex crimes») y «sexualidades criminales» («criminal sexualities») no resultan extrañas en la historiografía penal española y europea. Estas expresiones, desconocidas casi por completo en los textos medievales y modernos reflejan, a mi juicio, una aproximación al estudio de la historia desde categorías modernas (en este caso, desde los actuales «delitos contra la libertad sexual»). Esta práctica, además de llevar consigo los perniciosos efectos de la Dogmengeschichte, también dificulta la tarea de distinguir las nociones de delito y pecado en la ciencia jurídica anterior a la codificación decimonónica. Así, por ejemplo, una lectura atenta a las clasificaciones llevadas a cabo por Montesquieu resulta más que suficiente para percatarse que los delitos relacionados con la moral sexual no fueron calificados o etiquetados como «sexualidades criminales» o «delitos sexuales», sino como delitos contra «la moral», «el orden público» o la «seguridad del individuo». El presente trabajo se divide en tres partes. Tras la introducción (Parte I), en la segunda se hace un balance historiográfico de la relación entre delito y pecado en los siglos bajomedievales y modernos, centrándose en los «delitos contra la moral». Ahí se presta especial atención las razones y argumentos esgrimidos para la persecución y castigo de algunas conductas relacionadas con la moral sexual, y se muestra hasta qué punto se distinguían ambas categorías. Se aprecia cómo no toda conducta sexual desordenada desde un punto de vista moral debía ser perseguida jurídicamente, sino tan solo aquellas infracciones que afectaban al fundamento de la sociedad humana, esto es, a la paz social en general, y a la estabilidad matrimonial y familiar en particular, habida cuenta de que el matrimonio era considerado como base de la misma sociedad. Que la moral cristiana influyera el Derecho penal de los siglos medievales y modernos, hecho innegable, no significa que los delitos fueran perseguidos por el mero hecho de ser pecados. Incluso las fuentes medievales muestran que algunas prácticas, como la masturbación, la fornicación o la prostitución, por nombrar tan solo algunos ejemplos, no fueron siempre castigados en muchas de las ciudades europeas: tales conductas constituían verdaderos pecados mortales, pero no eran castigados si se entendía que no llegaban a constituir una auténtica amenaza a la «paz social» o a la «estabilidad matrimonial y familiar». En esta segunda parte se sostiene, pues, que los delitos contra la moral fueron perseguidos, no tanto por su carácter pecaminoso (aunque lo fuera), sino por sus consecuencias sobre la paz y estabilidad sociales. Se aborda la distinción entre delito y pecado, reflejo de la separación entre Iglesia y Estado, como elemento constitutivo de la tradición jurídica occidental, a diferencia de otras tradiciones jurídicas como la musulmana). La tercera parte se ocupa de la noción de delito en la tradición europea y anglosajona del siglo xviii. Se analizan varios autores (Bentham, Montesquieu, Voltaire, Rousseau, Beccaria, Lardizábal, Kant, etc.), prestando especial atención a la relación entre delito y pecado. Para la mayoría de los autores de ese siglo, no existía duda sobre la distinción entre ambas categorías porque ésta ya formaba parte del legado de los siglos xvi y xvii. El artículo termina con un epílogo final.
Writing Wrongdoing: Spain 1800-1936, Samuel Llano and Alison Sinclair (eds.), London: Tamesis, 2017
This chapter will attempt to introduce the lawyers’ construction of wrongdoing and the relationsh... more This chapter will attempt to introduce the lawyers’ construction of wrongdoing and the relationship between that view and society’s view in the period from 1800 to 1936. It will consider in turn the topics of constitutionalism and codification, the unity of criminal law, the objects of the criminal law and the punishments of the criminal law. In so doing it will serve as an introduction to the way that wrongdoing was conceived of over this period. It will also provide a context for seeing how wrongdoing was responded to. This legal perspective is arguably fed by, but certainly feeds back into, non-legal contemporary views of wrongdoing. The chapter will focus on formal legal sources, especially the criminal codes of the period.
Derechos humanos. Un análisis multidisciplinar de su teoría y praxis (J.M. Enríquez Sánchez, A. Masferrer, R.E. Aguilera Portales, eds.), Madrid: UNED, 2017
Derechos humanos. Un análisis multidisciplinar de su teoría y praxis (J.M. Enríquez Sánchez, A. Masferrer, R.E. Aguilera Portales, eds.), Madrid: UNED, 2017
Trending Topics of Law and Justice: Legal English Workshops 2015/16, Tirant lo Blanch, 2017
The secularization of law is one of the most controversial issues of the modern era. However, it ... more The secularization of law is one of the most controversial issues of the modern era. However, it is not a product of modern times but is rather a characteristic trait of the Western Legal Tradition whose origin can be found in the 1st century, in the context of the Roman Empire.
GLOSSAE. European Journal of Legal History 14, 2017
El presente artículo contiene un análisis retrospectivo de la noción de dignidad humana. Aunque é... more El presente artículo contiene un análisis retrospectivo de la noción de dignidad humana. Aunque ésta surgió en el ámbito jurídico en la primera mitad del siglo pasado, su contenido y sentido hundían sus raíces en la doctrina kantiana, y ésta a su vez procedía de la noción empleada por autores contemporáneos y anteriores a Kant (siglos XVIII y XVII), quienes ya empleaban la expresión ‘dignidad de la naturaleza humana’. Esta noción también puede apreciarse en algunos autores de la Segunda Escolástica como Francisco de Vitoria, quien desarrolló esa noción en el contexto de la colonización española en América.
Historia de los delitos y las penas en la Edad Contemporánea, Madrid: Dykinson-UNED, 2017
El tránsito del Derecho del siglo XVIII al XIX constituye uno de los periodos más complejos de co... more El tránsito del Derecho del siglo XVIII al XIX constituye uno de los periodos más complejos de comprender y de describir, tanto en España como en todo Occidente. Las revoluciones de América del Norte (1776) y Francia (1789) dieron lugar a la aparición de un nuevo marco político, el liberal o constitucional, que propició una transformación jurídica, una renovación del Derecho que, según el parecer de algunos estudiosos, supuso una ruptura con el existente hasta entonces. La Codificación –o el movimiento codificador– tuvo lugar en este contexto. La Ilustración –como se ha visto en el capítulo anterior– criticó con dureza la situación del Derecho a finales del Antiguo Régimen, exigiendo una reforma tanto formal como sustantiva del ordenamiento jurídico.
La Codificación penal española. Tradición e influencias extranjeras: su contribución al proceso codificador. Parte General (Aniceto Masferrer, ed.), Cizur Menor (Navarra): Thomson Reuters Aranzadi, 2017
La Codificación penal española. Tradición e influencias extranjeras: su contribución al proceso codificador. Parte General (Aniceto Masferrer, ed.), Cizur Menor (Navarra): Thomson Reuters Aranzadi, 2017
In Balogh, E. (ed.) Golden Bulls and Chartas: European Medieval Documents of Liberties, pp. 15–41. Budapest – Miskolc: Ferenc Mádl Institute of Comparative Law – Central European Academic Publishing, 2023
The Decreta of the kingdom of León was issued by King Alfonso IX in 1188, in the setting of the C... more The Decreta of the kingdom of León was issued by King Alfonso IX in 1188, in the setting of the Cortes of León, a medieval parliamentary body. According to UNESCO, this Cortes represents the first documented example of parliamentarism in history, since the curia regis was extended to incorporate deputies of the relevant citites, thus including representatives of the cities' political forces and merchants. The Decreta is also the first medieval charter of freedoms that has survived (in copies). An analysis of the conditions under which the Decreta was created and the content of this charter of freedom reflects local political conditions, but also universal values.
International Journal for the Semiotics of Law - Revue internationale de Sémiotique juridique, 2023
Freedom of expression is a fundamental part of living in a free and open society and, above all, ... more Freedom of expression is a fundamental part of living in a free and open society and, above all, a basic need of every human being and a requirement to attain happiness. Its absence has relevant consequences, not only for individuals but also for the whole social community. This might explain why freedom of expression was, along with other freedoms (conscience and religion; thought, belief, opinion, including that of the press and other media of communication; peaceful assembly; and association), at the core of liberal constitutionalism, and constitutes, since the Second World War, an essential element of constitutional democracies. In a democracy, people should be allowed to express themselves to others freely. The paper, which is divided into five sections, points out that states are obliged to protect the exercise of that freedom not only because its very purpose is the common good and welfare of society but also because it is a requirement of any constitutional democracy. Otherwise, when people cannot express themselves, perhaps out of fear (not from 'war' but from different kinds of social pressure or 'violence' exerted by some lobbies, mass media, or governmental policies that are at odds with respect for the plurality of opinions), vulnerability arises. This weakens not only those individuals that are not allowed to express their thoughts but also those who do not dare to do it-or even not to think for themselves-under certain environmental pressures (exerted by states, international organizations, social media, or financial groups, lobbies, etc.). In the end, the decline of freedom of expression makes most people more vulnerable and jeopardizes the whole democratic system.
This article offers the legal profession a method to effectuate on behalf of authors, designers, ... more This article offers the legal profession a method to effectuate on behalf of authors, designers, or inventors who are residents of Louisiana (or for Louisiana transactions) the rights recognized by federal law on intellectual property (IP) and unfair competition by activitating the civil law practitioners' stock of solutions with the regular notions of property, contracts, and torts in IP and unfair competition law for fascinating results. Also, it enables civil law academia to teach IP and unfair competition law through regular courses such as property, contracts, and torts and cease to label them as special or sui generis fields of the law.
The ESCLH will celebrate the 10th anniversary of its foundation in the Hague on 5 December 2019. ... more The ESCLH will celebrate the 10th anniversary of its foundation in the Hague on 5 December 2019. The following pages describe and reflect on the contribution of the ESCLH to comparative legal history, analysing the past and the present, while looking to the future, before concluding with some final considerations on what I call the ‘Spirit’ of the ESCLH.
Tulane European and Civil Law Forum, vol. 34, 2019
This Article argues that the classical approach or taxonomy used by comparative lawyers in distin... more This Article argues that the classical approach or taxonomy used by comparative lawyers in distinguishing the common law and civil law traditions has failed in showing that both legal traditions have more similarities than differences. Besides, some of the differences have poisoned the relationship between civil law and common law, giving rise to an inaccurate dichotomy between them. More specifically, this Article refers to the classical concept whereby, according to some comparative lawyers, civil law is linked to codification, whereas common law is not. The author maintains that, if codification has erroneously been considered a peculiarity of the civil law tradition, and hence somehow incompatible with the common law, this is because Napoleon’s codifications have, unfortunately, been presented as the model of civil law codification, a mythical idea and prejudice that have constituted a remarkable obstacle for codification in many common law jurisdictions. This work does not aim at offering a particular notion of codification but at making clear that the French codification is neither the model of the civil law tradition codification, nor the model of the codification method. The author asserts that the time is ripe for legal historians to admit that codification neither belongs to the civil law tradition nor constitutes a peculiarity of the civil law tradition, as if it were incompatible with the common law tradition unless common law itself is abrogated altogether. Thus, there is no abstract model of codification, only codification practices and discourses. It is true that on that empirical basis, one may discuss comparatively these practices and discourses in different jurisdictions, but this should not be done within the framework of a theoretical, mythic—and thus, inexistent—model of codification.
Rev. Fac. Direito UFMG (Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte), 74, 2019
No fue fácil la recepción de las ideas ilustradas y liberales francesas en el contexto de la Guer... more No fue fácil la recepción de las ideas ilustradas y liberales francesas en el contexto de la Guerra de la Independencia (1808-1814), que exigió la defensa de la soberanía de la nación española. El Derecho penal sirvió como instrumento para defender la nación española frente a la invasión francesa merced a la persecución y castigo del delito de traición (o de ‘infidencia’). El presente artículo analiza cómo se reguló este delito en el tránsito del antiguo sistema político absolutista al nuevo de cuño liberal o constitucional, cuyas bases o principios provenían del país invasor, tanto en el ámbito militar como en la esfera jurídico-pública o jurídico-penal. El delito de traición provenía de la categoría crimen laesae maiestatis. Más en concreto, se analiza cómo la transición del Antiguo Régimen al sistema político liberal tuvo importantes consecuencias en la evolución del delito de traición. La principal controversia que suscitó la regulación y persecución del delito de infidencia provino del hecho de que, en el nuevo sistema político, el Estado no estaba por encima del Derecho y la traición sólo podía perseguirse y castigarse con arreglo a la legalidad. Era la primera vez en la historia en la que el crimen laesae maiestatis debía ser regulado y aplicado en el marco de un sistema político distinto al absolutista.
La Constitución mexicana de 1917: estudios jurídicos, históricos y de derecho comparado a cien años de su promulgación (G. Garduño Domínguez & M. Andreu Gálvez, eds.), Ciudad de México: Instituto de Investigaciones Jurídicas – Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), 2019
GLOSSAE. European Journal of Legal History 15, 2018
Continental codes have been presented, following in the French model’s footsteps, as a determinin... more Continental codes have been presented, following in the French model’s footsteps, as a determining technique to achieve legal unification and legal positivism. From this perspective, codes would not be compatible with non-legal sources (custom, judicial precedent, legal doctrine) and with legal diversity. Looking at the Spanish case one comes to the conclusion that these ideas are myths or, at least, are not entirely true. They may be true for the French case or even for other European jurisdictions, but they failed when applied to Spain. This may explain why non-Spanish legal historians and comparative lawyers seem to find it difficult to understand the Codification of Civil law in Spain. On the one hand, the French influenced over the Spanish civil code is exaggerated. On the other, it would be unimaginable that the French civil code would have supposed to be applicable in defect of regional laws or customs, as it is the case in Spain. Besides, the Napoleon code did not recognize explicitly the custom as a legal source, whereas in the Spanish code did. It is undeniable that drafters of the Spanish civil code had in mind and used the French model, but the final outcome was quite unique. Spain shows that codification does not necessarily imply legal unification. In fact, Spain constitutes the only case in which the civil code whose application is just subsidiary, that is, when regional laws do not contain a legal rule applicable to solve a legal dispute. In explaining this from a historical and comparative perspective, non-Spanish scholars usually identify regional laws (Derechos forales) with fueros, customs and local laws, but this is not entirely true. The problem is that no other civil law jurisdictions can be used as a model to describe the Spanish case, which on this matter is unique. The paper focuses on the uniqueness of the Spanish case in codifying its civil law, dispelling some myths and misunderstandings on the notion of codification in general, and on the Spanish civil code in particular.
The Western Codification of Criminal Law: The Myth of its Predominant French Influence Revisited (Aniceto Masferrer, ed.), Dordrecht-Heidelberg-London-New York, Springer (Collection ‘History of Law and Justice’), 2018
Any civil law student knows that most of provisions in any European or Latin American civil code ... more Any civil law student knows that most of provisions in any European or Latin American civil code derive from Roman law, that they were the outcome of a long and gradual scholarly elaboration extending from 12th century glossators to the natural lawyers of the 18th century. However, there is no such consensus about criminal law. The civil law tradition has doubtlessly committed more effort to the scholarly development of private law institutions than to those of public law, privileging civil law over criminal law. The main consequences of this fact are twofold: (i) 19th century criminal jurisprudence is sometimes presented as if had arisen out of the blue, or as if institutions contained in the 19th criminal codes broke with the past or bore no traces of Roman law; and (ii) since criminal codes supposedly broke with the past, the extent and scope of foreign influences—and the French in particular—on the criminal codes in Europe and Latin America are overemphasized. The chapter aims at dispelling this common place, and particularly the myth of the overall French influence in Europe and Latin America.
Las expresiones «delitos sexuales» («sex crimes») y «sexualidades criminales» («criminal sexualit... more Las expresiones «delitos sexuales» («sex crimes») y «sexualidades criminales» («criminal sexualities») no resultan extrañas en la historiografía penal española y europea. Estas expresiones, desconocidas casi por completo en los textos medievales y modernos reflejan, a mi juicio, una aproximación al estudio de la historia desde categorías modernas (en este caso, desde los actuales «delitos contra la libertad sexual»). Esta práctica, además de llevar consigo los perniciosos efectos de la Dogmengeschichte, también dificulta la tarea de distinguir las nociones de delito y pecado en la ciencia jurídica anterior a la codificación decimonónica. Así, por ejemplo, una lectura atenta a las clasificaciones llevadas a cabo por Montesquieu resulta más que suficiente para percatarse que los delitos relacionados con la moral sexual no fueron calificados o etiquetados como «sexualidades criminales» o «delitos sexuales», sino como delitos contra «la moral», «el orden público» o la «seguridad del individuo». El presente trabajo se divide en tres partes. Tras la introducción (Parte I), en la segunda se hace un balance historiográfico de la relación entre delito y pecado en los siglos bajomedievales y modernos, centrándose en los «delitos contra la moral». Ahí se presta especial atención las razones y argumentos esgrimidos para la persecución y castigo de algunas conductas relacionadas con la moral sexual, y se muestra hasta qué punto se distinguían ambas categorías. Se aprecia cómo no toda conducta sexual desordenada desde un punto de vista moral debía ser perseguida jurídicamente, sino tan solo aquellas infracciones que afectaban al fundamento de la sociedad humana, esto es, a la paz social en general, y a la estabilidad matrimonial y familiar en particular, habida cuenta de que el matrimonio era considerado como base de la misma sociedad. Que la moral cristiana influyera el Derecho penal de los siglos medievales y modernos, hecho innegable, no significa que los delitos fueran perseguidos por el mero hecho de ser pecados. Incluso las fuentes medievales muestran que algunas prácticas, como la masturbación, la fornicación o la prostitución, por nombrar tan solo algunos ejemplos, no fueron siempre castigados en muchas de las ciudades europeas: tales conductas constituían verdaderos pecados mortales, pero no eran castigados si se entendía que no llegaban a constituir una auténtica amenaza a la «paz social» o a la «estabilidad matrimonial y familiar». En esta segunda parte se sostiene, pues, que los delitos contra la moral fueron perseguidos, no tanto por su carácter pecaminoso (aunque lo fuera), sino por sus consecuencias sobre la paz y estabilidad sociales. Se aborda la distinción entre delito y pecado, reflejo de la separación entre Iglesia y Estado, como elemento constitutivo de la tradición jurídica occidental, a diferencia de otras tradiciones jurídicas como la musulmana). La tercera parte se ocupa de la noción de delito en la tradición europea y anglosajona del siglo xviii. Se analizan varios autores (Bentham, Montesquieu, Voltaire, Rousseau, Beccaria, Lardizábal, Kant, etc.), prestando especial atención a la relación entre delito y pecado. Para la mayoría de los autores de ese siglo, no existía duda sobre la distinción entre ambas categorías porque ésta ya formaba parte del legado de los siglos xvi y xvii. El artículo termina con un epílogo final.
Writing Wrongdoing: Spain 1800-1936, Samuel Llano and Alison Sinclair (eds.), London: Tamesis, 2017
This chapter will attempt to introduce the lawyers’ construction of wrongdoing and the relationsh... more This chapter will attempt to introduce the lawyers’ construction of wrongdoing and the relationship between that view and society’s view in the period from 1800 to 1936. It will consider in turn the topics of constitutionalism and codification, the unity of criminal law, the objects of the criminal law and the punishments of the criminal law. In so doing it will serve as an introduction to the way that wrongdoing was conceived of over this period. It will also provide a context for seeing how wrongdoing was responded to. This legal perspective is arguably fed by, but certainly feeds back into, non-legal contemporary views of wrongdoing. The chapter will focus on formal legal sources, especially the criminal codes of the period.
Derechos humanos. Un análisis multidisciplinar de su teoría y praxis (J.M. Enríquez Sánchez, A. Masferrer, R.E. Aguilera Portales, eds.), Madrid: UNED, 2017
Derechos humanos. Un análisis multidisciplinar de su teoría y praxis (J.M. Enríquez Sánchez, A. Masferrer, R.E. Aguilera Portales, eds.), Madrid: UNED, 2017
Trending Topics of Law and Justice: Legal English Workshops 2015/16, Tirant lo Blanch, 2017
The secularization of law is one of the most controversial issues of the modern era. However, it ... more The secularization of law is one of the most controversial issues of the modern era. However, it is not a product of modern times but is rather a characteristic trait of the Western Legal Tradition whose origin can be found in the 1st century, in the context of the Roman Empire.
GLOSSAE. European Journal of Legal History 14, 2017
El presente artículo contiene un análisis retrospectivo de la noción de dignidad humana. Aunque é... more El presente artículo contiene un análisis retrospectivo de la noción de dignidad humana. Aunque ésta surgió en el ámbito jurídico en la primera mitad del siglo pasado, su contenido y sentido hundían sus raíces en la doctrina kantiana, y ésta a su vez procedía de la noción empleada por autores contemporáneos y anteriores a Kant (siglos XVIII y XVII), quienes ya empleaban la expresión ‘dignidad de la naturaleza humana’. Esta noción también puede apreciarse en algunos autores de la Segunda Escolástica como Francisco de Vitoria, quien desarrolló esa noción en el contexto de la colonización española en América.
Historia de los delitos y las penas en la Edad Contemporánea, Madrid: Dykinson-UNED, 2017
El tránsito del Derecho del siglo XVIII al XIX constituye uno de los periodos más complejos de co... more El tránsito del Derecho del siglo XVIII al XIX constituye uno de los periodos más complejos de comprender y de describir, tanto en España como en todo Occidente. Las revoluciones de América del Norte (1776) y Francia (1789) dieron lugar a la aparición de un nuevo marco político, el liberal o constitucional, que propició una transformación jurídica, una renovación del Derecho que, según el parecer de algunos estudiosos, supuso una ruptura con el existente hasta entonces. La Codificación –o el movimiento codificador– tuvo lugar en este contexto. La Ilustración –como se ha visto en el capítulo anterior– criticó con dureza la situación del Derecho a finales del Antiguo Régimen, exigiendo una reforma tanto formal como sustantiva del ordenamiento jurídico.
La Codificación penal española. Tradición e influencias extranjeras: su contribución al proceso codificador. Parte General (Aniceto Masferrer, ed.), Cizur Menor (Navarra): Thomson Reuters Aranzadi, 2017
La Codificación penal española. Tradición e influencias extranjeras: su contribución al proceso codificador. Parte General (Aniceto Masferrer, ed.), Cizur Menor (Navarra): Thomson Reuters Aranzadi, 2017
Uploads