PSOE and Podemos agree to an amendment in the sedition and embezzlement reform to interpret the 'only yes is yes'

The amendment will create an interpretative but non-binding guide for judges, who will be able to apply the most favorable law to the accused.

MADRID, 13 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The PSOE and Unidas Podemos have introduced an amendment in the explanatory statement of their proposed law to repeal the crime of sedition and modify the crime of embezzlement -- in order to avoid another controversy such as the one generated by the reduction of sentences for those convicted of crimes of sexual violence-- which will serve as a guide for judges to interpret the Organic Law of Comprehensive Guarantee of Sexual Freedom, known as the "only yes is yes" law, but will not subject them when applying the new norm as they deem appropriate .

Legal sources consulted by Europa Press explain that the modification amendment presented in the framework of the explanatory statement is not normative, but interpretative, which means that it serves as a guide, but does not oblige the judges.

According to the sources, the story would be different if it were an amendment to the articles, but the PSOE and Unidas Podemos have not gotten there, but have remained in the section of the explanatory reasons.

On the sidelines, they stress that the reform of the Penal Code promoted by the Ministry of Equality --through the "only yes is yes" law-- opened a path that allows judges to apply the most favorable law to the prisoner, even with the amendment that the PSOE and Unidas Podemos have now agreed upon.

In this sense, they point out that even if a law is in force for only one day, when it is most beneficial for the prisoner, its application is imposed, and the duty falls on the judges to make the interpretation that they consider correct after assessing the facts and circumstances in each case. .

The Organic Law for the Comprehensive Guarantee of Sexual Freedom has caused the crime of sexual assault to absorb that of sexual abuse, which means that a crime that until now included a more serious conduct incorporates a less serious one, for which the criminal fork also It has been expanded to cover the full range of behaviors now punishable as sexual assault.

The number of convicts who have benefited from the new penalty framework included in the 'only yes is yes' law amounts to at least 57, between lower sentence reviews (53) and subsequent sentences in application of the rule (4). A total of 12 people have been released.

This Tuesday, it has been announced that the PSOE and Unidas Podemos have agreed to an amendment by which they introduce a paragraph in the explanatory statement of the law that repeals sedition to set the tone for how the new Penal Code will be applied.

The bill, which also modifies the crime of embezzlement, already included three transitory provisions that made it clear how the new regulations should be applied to those accused of crimes committed previously, all taking into account the principle contained in the Penal Code in its article 2.2; that is to say, that the law that is most favorable to the accused will be applied.

But now, taking advantage of an amendment from the PDeCAT asking to analyze the consequences of the entry into force of the law of 'only yes is yes', the PSOE and Unidas Podemos have introduced a new paragraph in the explanatory statement to highlight this transition.

Specifically, both formations have recalled that for the application of the penal reforms contained in this law to crimes committed before its entry into force, the fifth transitory provision of the Penal Code of 1995 must be administered, among others, which prevents an automatic reduction of the sorrows

From the PSOE they assure that with these paragraphs "the parliamentary groups that support the Government facilitate the interpretation of the transitory law in accordance with the consolidated jurisprudence, for a correct application of the modifications of the Penal Code, among them some recently approved as the Law of Freedom Sexual".

Sources from United We Can underline that the Ministry of Equality has been involved in the talks and that the new wording "seeks to clarify to the judges that the will of the legislator, by way of recommendation, is that, in the event of review of sentences, they remain the penalties imposed".