Of the limiting principles of state criminal power in the exercise of legislative activity

Abstract

Some reflections on the importance of the limits to the penal power of the State in the legislative activity are presented. The legislator of the constitutional, democratic and legal State cannot ignore the meaning and scope of the principles that circumscribe the ius puniendi. However, the discursive strength reached by the scientific doctrine (especially in relation to the limits to the penal state power) seems not enough to translate into legislative actions in accordance with the theoretical proposals. Therefore, the dissociation between theory and practice is notorious, giving rise to the creation of penal norms inconsistent with the prescriptions contained in the penal principles that are discussed in this document.