History of the crime of prevarication: Origin, development and reception in the Chilean legal system

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to address the origin and legal-historical evolution of the crime of prevarication, and how it came to be contemplated in articles 223 et seq. of the Chilean Criminal Code. The above, both in its substantive hypotheses and in its adjective or procedural rules. This in order to account for those material, historical, social and legal foundations that guided the development of this rule and, therefore, to identify typical elements in the historical discussion about it. In this sense, the present research reports on the historical development of the crime from its origin in the Roman monarchy to the Chilean Penal Codification, focusing its attention on the relationship between the forms of political organization of a given legal period with its relationship in the affection to the duty of judges before the law.