The discussion regarding the criminal status of conduct in violation of curfew and quarantine under Covid-19 has turned heated in Chile. The Public Prosecutor's Office and the Public Defender's Office have maintained conflicting theses and the matter has ended up being of concern to Congress, who recently passed a law to "settle" the discussion (law no. 21,240 of June 20). The author offers herein a summary of the debate, critically reviews the substantive contents of the new law and offers specific proposals on how to interpret it (with case outlines). At the same time, the contribution sheds light on the functional value of the old and “denigrated” art. 318 of the Chilean Penal Code. In two words: the legislator undertakes a narrow perspective of the matter (the one focused on the citizens' conduct), rather than addressing the problem in its institutional dimension.
With the permission of the publisher Giuffrè Francis Lefebvre we anticipate below the abstracts of the works published in the latest issue of the journal "Rivista italiana di diritto e procedura penale" (n. 1/2020)
The paper analyses the main factors that trigger radicalisation to “jihadi” fundamentalism from a socio-criminological and geopolitical perspective. The concept of radicalisation and its causes in its potential progression towards terrorist violence will be examined. The conclusion of the paper will pinpoint the flaws of the current strategies of counter-radicalisation and counter-terrorism and will outline some possible preventive ways forward.
Executive Order on Safe Policing for Safe Communities
Executive Order on Blocking Property Of Certain Persons Associated With The International Criminal Court (June, 11, 2020)
This paper critically analyses Law No. 21,240 of 20 June 2020, which introduced several reforms to Chile's Criminal Code in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Criticism focuses on issues related to the origin of the reform, but especially on the use of the criminal instrument as a panacea to solve complex social problems.
This paper addresses the problems that may be generated in relation to the principles of legality and immediacy in the event that the criminal oral hearing is arranged through remote connection platforms. This analysis is carried out taking as a reference the regulation contained in the Chilean Criminal Procedure Code. A second part (to be published) will deal with other related issues (principle of confrontation, control of evidence, communication between the accused and defence counsel, publicity and impact of the accused's agreement to hold this type of trial and the collision with the right to be tried within a reasonable time).
Data on Police Budget in Twelve Jurisdictions (Center for Popular Democracy Report)
The bulletin considers the impact of Covid-19 on fundamental rights in important areas of daily life
The spread of Covid-19 poses a real and serious risk to people's health and lives. In view of this situation, it is appropriate to analyse the possibility of criminally charging the carrying out of a contagious conduct when its suitability to cause the death of a person has been demonstrated. This work contributes to the legal qualification of the contagion of a disease like Covid-19 for which it resorts to the development of the theory of objective imputation.