Articles received by April 30 can be published in the first semester, and those received by September 15 can be published in the corresponding second-semester issue.
On the functional connection between intention and wrongdoing-wareness in Chilean Criminal Law
Authors
Juan Pablo Mañalich Raffo
Abogado, Doctor en Derecho, Profesor asociado del Departamento de Ciencias Penales de la Facultad de Derecho, Universidad de Chile
The article provides a brief review of the traditional dispute between the so-called intention theory ("teoría del dolo") and the so-called culpability theory ("teoría de la culpabilidad"), conveying their different implications as alternative frameworks for the interpretation of Articles 1 and 2 of the Chilean Criminal Code. The author suggests the acknowledgment of an analytical-functional connection between wrongdoing ("injusto") and culpability. Afterwards, the author clarifies the relationship between intention and wrongdoing-awareness ("conciencia de la antijuridicidad"). The central thesis hereby is that only in an attribution of culpability defined by wrongdoing-awareness is the intentional character of a given token of wrongdoing properly expressed. This leads to a reconstruction of the legal regulation governing liability and sanctions in cases of avoidable mistake of law ("error de prohibición vencible"). The conclusion reached can be characterized as a defense of the solution postulated by the intention theory throught the conceptual framework of the culpability theory.
Keywords:
offense, wrongdoing, culpability, intention, mistake of law
Mañalich Raffo, J. P. (2012). On the functional connection between intention and wrongdoing-wareness in Chilean Criminal Law. Revista De Estudios De La Justicia, (16), pp. 15–30. https://doi.org/10.5354/rej.v0i16.29491