Is it possible to use legal defenses to exempt criminal responsibility for the crime of torture?

Torture is proscribed in the majority of countries, and prohibited by numerous international instruments. However, torture is nowadays a practice that takes place in many countries, even though there exists a majority agreement in favor of absolute prohibition of this conduct.In the present article,...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Bassino Balta, Ariana
Format: Others
Language:Español
Published: THĒMIS-Revista de Derecho 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:http://revistas.pucp.edu.pe/index.php/themis/article/view/15587/16036
http://repositorio.pucp.edu.pe/index/handle/123456789/108373
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Summary:Torture is proscribed in the majority of countries, and prohibited by numerous international instruments. However, torture is nowadays a practice that takes place in many countries, even though there exists a majority agreement in favor of absolute prohibition of this conduct.In the present article, the author analyzes the possibility of using legal defenses to exempt criminal responsibility for the crime of torture. In order to do this, the author examines historical, doctrinal and jurisprudential aspects, concluding than in certain situations it is possible to appeal to traditional legal defenses, particularly selfdefense. === La tortura se encuentra proscrita en la mayoría de países, y está vetada por diversos instrumentos internacionales. No obstante, la tortura es en la actualidad una práctica que se lleva a cabo en muchos países, a pesar de un discurso mayoritario de prohibición absoluta de la misma.En el presente artículo, la autora realiza un análisis sobre la posibilidad de aplicar eximentes en el juicio de imputación del delito de tortura. Para ello, examina aspectos históricos, doctrinales y jurisprudenciales, concluyendo que en determinadas situaciones límite se verifican los presupuestos y requisitos de las causas de justificación tradicionales, en particular de la legítima defensa.