Tres modelos legislativos sobre la tortura

Abstract

Three Legislative Proposals on Torture

The debate about torture can be divided, following McMahan’s classification, into two levels: theoretical and practical. In the first, there is a discussion about the moral permissibility of torture in exceptional circumstances and the characteristics that make torture a practice, prima facie, immoral. In the second, the possible consequences of different models of legislation intending to address the situations that obtain in the real world (absolutism, institutionalism and legalism) are evaluated. In this second level, this paper aims to critically analyze the legislative proposals of Jeff McMahan and Alan Dershowitz. It also seeks to offer a preliminary exploration of the advantages of the legalistic model.