Vol 23, No 49 (2024): January-June

In this article, the aim is to demonstrate how the judgment BVerfGE 65, 1 (Volkszählungsurteil), carried out by the German Federal Constitutional Court in 1983, influenced the development of an autonomous fundamental right of personal data protection in the Brazilian legal system. A bibliographical and documentary research was carried out, using the inductive-confirmable approach method, with a study, first, of the context and need for the development of a right to the protection of personal data. Then the foundations of the historical precedent judged by the German Constitutional Court in 1983 are stated to, finally, demonstrate how such foundations served as the basis for the construction of legislation and jurisprudence for the protection of personal data in Brazil. It is concluded that, in a context of information society, data processing is an unavoidable event, so that recognition for a right to protection of personal data reveals to be essential for the protection of human beings in their dignity and personality, something that encounters safe direction in the decision handed down by the Brazilian Federal Constitutional Court, inspired by the decision of the German Constitutional Court, which contributes as a paradigm for the interpretation and application of this right so discussed nowadays.

In Colombia, there is a constitutional guarantee to carry out dignified death. However, despite having been developed from various resolutions of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection (MinSalud), the practice can be complex due to the intervention of various actors with whom there may even be a conflict of rights.
This article raises questions such as: what should be done when a euthanasia procedure is requested and the fundamental rights of the actors involved come into conflict? Are the regulations on the subject clear, complete, precise, and effective? Do the actors involved in these conflicts — such as health service providers, patients, doctors — see their rights in conflict in the euthanasia procedure in Colombia?
To answer these questions, a study of the concepts of the right to a dignified death, conscientious objection, active and passive euthanasia, assisted suicide, and mercy killing was carried out, as well as the test of reasonableness and the principle of proportionality.

In recent decades, the concern about the demand for medical criminal liability of health professionals, judging by the numerous scientific publications on the subject, has experienced a boom in contemporary societies. This article systematizes the essential assumptions of punishable medical imprudence and analyzes Resolution 458/2019 of the Ministry of Public Health of Cuba (Minsap), which established the procedure for the creation and performance of the commissions of medical liability in its function of preparing the expert opinion in the criminal process followed for alleged imprudence resulting in death or injury in this field. The methodology used follows a descriptive-analytical type of research and is based on the analytical-synthetic, inductive-deductive and exegetical methods, supported by the research technique of bibliographic review. The main results reveal the problems associated with the conception, composition, functioning and attributions of these commissions and, in addition, lege ferenda proposals are formulated for their solution. The main conclusion is the need to modify these regulations for a better evaluation of the responsibility of the health professional involved in a criminal proceeding for alleged malpractice.

The central purpose of this investigation was to determine the scope of compliance that the adoption of conventional guarantees in Colombian administrative disciplinary law has had, within the framework of popularly elected public servants, since the issuance of the ruling Petro Urrego vs. Colombia in 2020. In this way, this research was methodologically based on a qualitative approach with analytical-explanatory scope, which from a hermeneutical point of view breaks down a set of legal arguments that allow us to glimpse the scope of the current reform of the Law. 1952 of 2019 by Law 2094 of 2021, regarding compliance with the guarantees required by paragraph 2 of article 23 of the American Convention on Human Rights, with regard to the adoption of disciplinary sanctions that restrict political rights to employees public elections. In that sense, the result of this research led to offering legal elements that would allow strengthening the institutional order of the authorities that are in charge of the exercise of the disciplinary function, since it makes known and better understood the current reality of administrative disciplinary law in the face of the need to inexorably incorporate conventional guarantees into the Colombian disciplinary system, as well as to satisfy their effective application and compliance, otherwise multiple lawsuits and possible sentences would be filed in the future against the Colombian State for non-compliance with them. From the above, it is concluded that it is pertinent to have competent judicial authorities with autonomy, independence and absolute impartiality, who administer the full disciplinary function in Colombia, in compliance with the international standards adopted to sanction public servants, especially those of popular election.

The lack or low state transparency in public procurement procedures is one of the problems that has been affecting the citizen’s right to free access to public information, in addition to generating acts of corruption, little competitiveness, lack of state legitimacy, among others. The objective of this study is to analyze the importance of the Electronic System of State Procurement (Seace) in the free access to information and transparency of public procurement procedures in Peru. The general methods of logic and the dogmatic legal method have been used. We will present a theoretical development, built based on regulations, doctrine, Peruvian jurisprudence, and comparative law. The results show that the Seace portal, through the option “Seace Public Search Engines”, allows the search for information in ten different categories related to public procurement. It is concluded that the Seace has become a fundamental tool in the free access to public  information. However, it presents problems since in some cases it presents damaged, incomplete, or simply non-existent information.

This paper presents an analysis of the roles and characters of lawyers in literature, following one of the lines of work of the “law and literature movement.” To do this, it focuses on an Argentine writer, central in Latin American literature, as Julio Cortázar. From his work, a corpus of two short stories linked by the character of lawyer is examined to present a reading from the point of view of “law and literature” aiming to shed light on some issues in legal practice and drawing directions to reformulate it.

The lack of regulation on surrogacy in Colombia can violate fundamental rights, including women’s sexual and reproductive rights and the right of the unborn child to have a family. This article focused on analyzing the adverse effects of this issue that has been debated by the Constitutional Court, prioritizing the rights of children and adolescents. Using a hermeneutic methodology based on the review and interpretation of legal sources, we found that this practice has gained popularity as an alternative for those who wish to become parents and in some contexts as a source of remuneration for pregnant women. However, regulatory gaps have led to serious legal problems, especially in the filiation of children born through surrogacy. The constitutional court has stressed the need for regulation that protects the rights of minors and offers solutions to possible disputes between the parties.

This article aims to promote reflection on the human right to health of cancer patients and the violation of this right by the current management system. It presents as a problem the following question: to what extent cancer patients have access to palliative care, so that their human dignity can be guaranteed, taking into account the model of free and egalitarian state provision of health for citizens, constitutionally guaranteed? Following this ideal, the research method used was hypothetical-deductive, through the technique of  bibliographic and documental research. Based on the data collected, there is evidence of a lack of supply in the Brazilian public health system in relation to palliative care, especially from a biopolitical perspective. Therefore, it is concluded that the neoliberal government model tends not to invest public budget in the demands of patients who do not have the value of human capital that repays the State, causing cancer patients to have their human dignity violated.

This paper intends to analyze in detail the legislative procedures relating to laws that regulate money laundering in Brazil and their future tendencies, exploring the research field called criminal legislative policy. The main objective of this paper is to help build this research area in Brazil, as well as to map out some characteristics of the Brazilian legislative process concerning the criminalization of conduct related to the economy (political parties involved, foreign influences, etc.). The first part of the paper is theoretical and explores the concept of legislative policy and the international regulation of money laundering, mainly in Latin America, that could have influenced Brazilian legislation. The last part of the paper is composed of graphs that explore details about the legislative procedure of the two main Brazilian pieces of legislation on money laundering. This part also contains a table with the main active bills that seek to change the current legislation on the matter, as well as a critical analysis. The initial conclusions point to an increase in punishment in the years analyzed, with future trends heading in the same direction. The methodology used is bibliographic, legislative, and documental research.