Spanish professor of Criminal Law, Jesús María Silva Sánchez, presented his new work, "Criminal Law, General Part," to a packed auditorium at our University's Cerrito 1250 campus. An honorary doctorate recipient from our institution, Silva Sánchez is a key figure for the faculty of our Department of Criminal Law.
Dr. Jesús María Silva Sánchez, Professor of Criminal Law at Pompeu Fabra University and Doctor Honoris Causa from our University, presented his new work at our Faculty of Law “Criminal Law. General Part”, published by Civitas. The Universidad Austral It had the privilege of being the first place in South America where Silva Sánchez's new production was presented last Thursday, March 13.
The presentation was accompanied by Doctors Guillermo Yacobucci and Carlos González Guerra, director and deputy director, respectively, of the Department of Criminal Law of the Universidad Austral, as well as by the tenured professor of Criminal Law at the University of Buenos Aires, Mario Villar.
First, Dr. Silva Sánchez introduced the work of Silva Sánchez. González Guerra, who also directs the Master's Program in Criminal Law at the University: “The beginnings and the very foundation of the Department of Criminal Law of the Universidad Austral They were related to the work of Professor Silva Sánchez. The first academic activity, in 1998, was a seminar for reading and discussing his book. An Approach to Contemporary Criminal Law (1992). That same year, Professor Silva gave a lecture at the old headquarters on Avenida Juan de Garay, which many will remember, about what would later become the book The expansion of Criminal Law (1999), whose first edition was dedicated to the professors of Austral University. But to further illustrate the enormous impact of Professor Silva Sánchez on our University, it is worth mentioning that of the 52 professors in the Master's Program in Criminal Law, 33 of us hold doctorates and 23 are direct or indirect disciples of the professor, either through being disciples of one of his disciples. This underscores the impact that Professor Silva has had on our University.”
Then it was the doctor's turn Guillermo Yacobucci, who stated: “It can be said that criminal law doctrine historically began anchored to the positive statements of the Codes. But that as the 20th century progressed, it shifted towards constitutional support and, more precisely, towards constitutional principles, bringing about a great transformation in the foundation of doctrine. Well, in Silva Sánchez's work, it is a further step; even the metaphor of a step seems insufficient to describe what this work represents, because we are truly facing the reintegration of criminal science and criminal thought into the framework of Practical Moral Philosophy. Therefore, it is not just a classical perspective or a philosophical legal tradition. We are truly facing the greatest intellectual effort of our time to locate the sources of criminal science in reality, in practical reality, that which defines what is good and true.”
Regarding the content of his new work, Dr. Jesús María Silva Sánchez, He stated: “There is an anthropological premise in this work. This anthropological premise maintains that human beings are free and rational, but that this rationality and freedom are limited. From this arise the concept of vulnerability and our dependence. I reject the Kantian view that we are closed spheres of freedom that clash with one another and that, therefore, there is a competition for freedom. Thus, the only positive point of contact was solidarity. Instead, I embrace a dimension based on the idea of cooperation and the pursuit of a common good. This anthropology of dependence and vulnerability has repercussions such as the idea of malice as emotional, affective, and practical knowledge. In malice, there is a commitment to action.”
Access to view the presentation of the new work by Jesús María Silva Sánchez here
