The Exonerating Effect of “Voluntary Desistance” of the Attempt: What Begins Badly, Ends Badly?

• Autor: Reaño Peschiera, José Leandro
• Formato: artículo
• Fecha de Publicación: 2005
• Institución: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
• Repositorio: Revistas - Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
• Lenguaje: español
• OAI Identifier: oai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/3103
• Enlace del recurso: http://revistas.pucp.edu.pe/index.php/derechopucp/article/view/3103
• Nivel de acceso: acceso abierto
• Materia: Voluntary Desistance; Attempt; Individual Autonomy; Impunity; Legal Reform; Criminal Law; Desistimiento Voluntario; Tentativa; Autonomía Individual; Impunidad; Reforma Legal; Derecho Penal

Voluntary desistance represents a complex issue in criminal dogmatics. In this context, the author argues that impunity for voluntary desistance, regulated in legal systems such as German, Spanish and Peruvian, lacks a solid foundation and instead generates dysfunctional consequences in any legal-criminal system that seeks to protect individual autonomy. Consequently, in a legal system where individual autonomy is a fundamental principle, the ability of an individual to avoid criminal liability simply by voluntarily desisting from a criminal act already initiated, without consideration of the risk created, is contrary to the logic of a criminal system that seeks to safeguard social security and order. It is therefore proposed that the rules be reformed in such a way that voluntary desistance does not automatically exempt from criminal liability. This would allow for a balance to be struck between criminal intent and the protection of the autonomy of others.