Criminal legal treatment of the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents

Abstract

The text analyses the criminal legal treatment given to the phenomenon of commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents, particularly with respect to the promotion of child prostitution and the obtaining of sexual services from adolescents, in the light of the requirements imposed by the treaties signed by the State in this area, and the dogmatic considerations that are made with respect to the criminal offences established in articles 367 and 367 ter of the Criminal Code. The main characteristics of this phenomenon and its treatment under international human rights law are reviewed, followed by an analysis of the criminal offences from the perspective of the elements of the offence, the legal good protected, their scope and shortcomings, their sufficiency in relation to the obligations assumed and the characteristics of the phenomenon itself.