What does it mean that a cause is prescribed?
That a cause is prescribed means that the maximum time limit for punitive prosecution has been met. In other words, the State’s claim to penalize the crime committed is no longer in force due to the mere passage of time. This is based on the need for legal certainty but also on the search for speed when delivering justice. On the other hand, it is understood that the lack of a defined “sine die” term to subject a person to a sanction for a crime committed in the past would not be logical.
Until 2011, the period for the statute of limitations for a crime of sexual abuse against a minor began to be counted from the time the event had occurred. From the so-called “Piazza Law”, sanctioned in that year, the way of counting this period is modified, and the time for the prescription is no longer counted from the time the event occurred, but begins to be counted from the time the victim complies with the age of majority (18 years).
So the “Piazza Law” is a rule that extends the statute of limitations for most crimes against sexual integrity.
What is the Piazza Law? What difference does it have with the law of respect for victims?
The “Piazza Law” was repealed when the “Law of Respect for Victims’ Time” was enacted in 2015, which further extended the term for prosecuting this type of crime. This law indicates that the statute of limitations for these crimes is counted from the moment the victim, having reached the age of majoritymake the complaint by yourself, or ratify the complaint made by your legal representatives while you were a minor.
What does a Truth Trial mean?
The trial for the truth is a trial that does not seek to punish those responsible for a crime but its objective is to clarify the facts, the circumstances in which they occurred, and repair the damage.
This figure is applied in our country to shed light on the circumstances in which the crimes against humanity committed during the last military dictatorship occurred, but there is no record of having used the figure of a trial for the truth in other types of crimes.
It must be taken into account that the jurisprudence always focused the trial for the truth in favor of the victims, not the accused.
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by CEDOC
