%0 Journal Article
%T Ultima Ratio and the Judicial Application of Law
%A Joxerramon Bengoetxea
%J Oˋati Socio-Legal Series
%D 2013
%I 
%X The nature of Ultima Ratio as a principle, its relationship to other principles in the criminal law is the first subject of this paper. After discarding approaches that deny any role to the ultima ratio principle like the criminal law of the enemy, the major readings of the justification of the ius puniendi 每 deontological and utilitarian 每 are related to the idea of a restrained resort to criminalisation and penal sanction. The role of the main protagonists in relation to punishment is next considered: transgressor, community and victim. The issues of impunity and overpunity are also considered in this part. The second part of the paper analyses the possible effects of ultima ratio, a general politico-moral principle mainly addressed to the legislator, on the application of the law by the judges. It is then turned into something closer to a general legal principle. The impact of ultima ratio on the different sub-decisions of the judicial application of the criminal law is spelt out in the decisions on qualification, evidence (inferences), interpretation and consequences in sentencing. Next, the role of ultima ratio on decisions in appeal and in cassation is analysed. The third part and conclusion deals with the main ideologies of ultima ratio and the wider issue of its role in securing a guarantee oriented criminal law in Europe. En este art赤culo se aborda, en primer lugar, el car芍cter de ultima ratio como principio, su relaci車n con otros principios en el derecho penal. Despu谷s de descartar los enfoques que rechazan cualquier papel del principio de ultima ratio como el derecho penal del enemigo, las lecturas principales de la justificaci車n del ius puniendi, deontol車gico y utilitarista, est芍n relacionadas con la idea de un recurso restringido a la criminalizaci車n y sanci車n penal. A continuaci車n, se analiza el papel de los protagonistas principales relacionados con el castigo: transgresor, comunidad y v赤ctima. En esta parte tambi谷n se tienen en cuenta las cuestiones de impunidad y castigo excesivo. La segunda parte del trabajo analiza los posibles efectos sobre la aplicaci車n de la ley por los jueces del principio ultima ratio, un principio pol赤tico-moral general, principalmente dirigido principalmente al legislador. El impacto del ultima ratio en las diferentes sub-decisiones de la aplicaci車n judicial del derecho penal se detalla a partir de las decisiones sobre la calificaci車n, evidencia (inferencias), interpretaci車n y consecuencias de las sentencias. A continuaci車n se analiza el papel del ultima ratio en los veredictos de apelaci車n y casaci車n. La terce
%K Criminalisation
%K decrimninalisation
%K dejuridification
%K impunity
%K ius puniendi
%K deontological and utilitarian justifications
%K alternatives to punishment
%K ultima ratio
%K last resort
%K minimal intervention
%K rational discourse
%K guarantees and rights of defense
%U http://ssrn.com/abstract=2200875