O expansionismo penal na era do direito como maximum ético

Abstract

The present research intends to analyze and understand the apparent contradiction of Law having reached the ethical maximum, guarantor of freedoms and fundamental rights, according to the work of Joaquim Carlos Salgado, and at the same time that the expansion of Criminal Law is verified in contemporary societies. and its restrictive effects on individual liberties. The compatibility and the possibility of coexistence of these two movements are questioned, and their unfolding in the contemporary world. The theme allows approaching the Theory of the Maximum Ethical with the area of Criminal Law, approaching important points to the Philosophy of Law, such as freedom, legal certainty and the valuation of criminal norms. On the Other hand, it also allows analyzing the mechanism by which Criminal Law has expanded, in the view of José-Maria Silva Sánchez, in order to rethink its role in contemporary societies. Thus, points of congruence in the theories of these two philosophers were selected, with the contribution of other important names in current Law thinking, in order to enrich the reflections on the legitimacy and purpose of Criminal Law in the light of this approach.