Crime in criminal law: legal construction and contemporary challenges

Abstract

This article addresses the historical development and conceptual evolution of the Theory of Crime, highlighting its transformation from an initial naturalistic conception focused exclusively on the descriptive aspects of human behavior to a more complex, comprehensive, and normative view, in line with the demands of modern criminal law. Throughout this process, criminal law doctrine has played a fundamental role in the development of new theoretical approaches that have allowed for the refinement of the criteria for attributing criminal responsibility, with particular emphasis on the theory of objective attribution, which represents a doctrinal convergence that seeks to provide greater rationality and coherence to the criminal justice system. Throughout this process, essential elements such as punishable conduct and the formal structure of crime have been the subject of in-depth debate, becoming central axes of analysis and discussion in criminal law, aimed at achieving greater legal precision. These advances, however, do not represent a final point in the evolution of the Theory of Crime, since contemporary social dynamics, characterized by constant technological, cultural, and legal transformations, pose new challenges that require a critical and ongoing review of traditional postulates. In this sense, criminal law doctrine continues to generate innovative theoretical proposals that allow us to adequately address new forms of crime and respond to the demands for a more just, fair, and respectful criminal justice system. Therefore, studying the evolution of the Theory of Crime not only allows us to understand its historical development but also opens spaces for critical reflection and the construction of new perspectives that strengthen criminal law in the face of the emerging challenges of today's society.