The (supposed) elimination of misdemeanors in the Penal Code reform project of 2013

Abstract

The Penal Code reform project currently being prepared intends to eliminate the entirety of Book III, removing misdemeanors as a result, while creating a new criminal category called “minor crimes”. In this paper I will analyze this modification from a critical point of view. Firstly, due to the fact that the misdemeanors that would become minor crimes do not abide by the principle of minimum intervention in their selections nor the penalties they provide, which tend unreasonably towards heavier punishments. And secondly, the misdemeanor behaviors that would be eliminated from the Penal Code and will move to civil or administrative jurisdictions could cause, in some cases in practice, a worsening of their situation for the victims or the offenders.