Preprint / Version 1

Proposal for a Legal Entities’ Penalty Modulation System Considering Mitigating and Aggravating Circumstances of Criminal Offenses

Authors

  • Leonel Fernando González Vallejo

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18272/qk41sr95

Keywords:

Sentencing adjustment system , mitigating circumstances , aggravating factors, criminal liability, juridical persons

Abstract

The study examines the legal entities' penalty modulation system under mitigating and aggravating circumstances of criminal offenses. It identifies that penalties for legal entities, such as dissolution, confiscation, or closure, are not adjustable under the applicable modulation mechanism, violating the principles of legality and proportionality of penalties. Through a comparative analysis with legal systems such as the Spanish and Argentine, it emphasizes the need for a new approach that is tailored to the unique nature of sanctions imposed on legal entities. The study also proposes a reform to Ecuadorian law, introducing a mixed modulation system for legal entities' penalties. This system would maintain the current modulation mechanism for adjustable penalties, while replacing non-adjustable sanctions with better alternatives, taking specific circumstances of the infraction into consideration. The proposal aims to ensure normative effectiveness and strengthen the coherence of Ecuador's criminal justice system, aligning penalties with the principles of legality and proportionality.

Author Biography

Leonel Fernando González Vallejo

Leonel González is a lawyer graduated from the Universidad San Francisco de Quito. He is the managing partner of the law firm GVLEGAL, a firm specialized in Criminal Law. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Economic Criminal Law at the International University of La Rioja, with an emphasis on Compliance and Corporate Criminal Liability.

References

Argentina. Ley 27.401, Responsabilidad Penal de las Personas Jurídicas, art. 8.

Dopico Gómez-Aller, Jacobo. «La responsabilidad penal de las personas jurídicas». En Derecho penal económico y de la empresa, editado por Norberto Javier de la Mata Barranco, Jacobo Dopico Gómez-Aller, Juan Antonio Lascuraín Sánchez y Adán Nieto Martín, 129–168. Madrid: Dykinson, 2018.

Ecuador. Código Orgánico Integral Penal (COIP). Registro Oficial Suplemento 180, 10 de febrero de 2014; reformas al 29 de julio de 2024.

Ecuador. Constitución de la República del Ecuador, art. 76 (reformas al 30 de mayo de 2024).

Ecuador. Corte Nacional de Justicia. Resolución No. 15-204. Suplemento al Registro Oficial 646, 18 de septiembre de 2024.

España. Ley Orgánica 10/1995, del Código Penal, art. 66.

Liñán Lafuente, Alfredo, y José Roberto Pazmiño Ruiz. «Responsabilidad penal de las personas jurídicas: ¿nueva era compliance en Ecuador? Un diálogo con España». Iuris Dictio, n.º 28 (diciembre de 2021): 73–91.

Mila, Frank. «La responsabilidad penal de las personas jurídicas en el derecho ecuatoriano». Ius et Praxis 26 (2020): 149–70.

Mir Puig, Santiago. Derecho Penal. Parte General. 10.ª ed. Barcelona: Editorial Reppertor, 2016.

Muñoz Conde, Francisco, y Mercedes García Arán. Derecho Penal. Parte General. 8.ª ed. Valencia: Tirant lo Blanch, 2010.

Pazmiño Ruiz, José Roberto, y Juan Francisco Pozo Torres. «Responsabilidad penal de las personas jurídicas y compliance: caso Ecuador». Revista Derecho Penal y Criminología 40 (diciembre de 2019): 89–122.

Polaino Navarrete, Miguel. Lecciones de derecho penal. Parte general. Tomo II. 2.ª ed. España: Tecnos, 2016.

Pozo Torres, Juan Francisco. Fundamentos de la responsabilidad penal de las personas jurídicas en Ecuador. 1.ª ed. Quito: CEP, 2018.

Prado Saldarriaga, Víctor Roberto. «Las circunstancias atenuantes genéricas del artículo 46 del Código Penal». THEMIS-Revista de Derecho, n.º 68 (2016): 33–39.

Downloads

Posted

2025-12-16

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Leonel Fernando González Vallejo

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.