What does the crime of libel consist of?
The crime of libel consists of harming, through an action or expression, the dignity of another person, undermining their reputation or attacking their own self-esteem ( article 208 of the Penal Code ). The Penal Code only considers as a crime insults that are considered serious according to the general concept in force in society, and in no case are insults that consist of the imputation of facts considered serious, unless they have been carried out with knowledge of their falsehood. or recklessly disregarding the truth. However, insults that, even if slight, are carried out on someone who is or was a spouse or person linked by an analogous emotional relationship to the perpetrator of the acts, or on their closest relatives with whom they live or have been, will be considered a crime. lived together ( article 173.4 ). The penalty provided for the crime of libel is a fine of 3 to 7 months, but if the crime is committed with publicity, then an aggravated type is incurred, which is punishable by a fine of 6 to 14 months. It is understood that the circumstance of publicity occurs in the same cases as those provided for the crime of slander.
he crime of libel is considered less serious than that of slander , since, although the honor of a person is attacked, the status of criminal is not attributed to them, and the damage caused is less, as well as the repercussions it may have on different spheres of your life. The Penal Code makes a special provision for the event that insults are directed against public officials regarding facts related to the exercise of their[ b]DM Databases positions, or referring to the commission of administrative infractions: the person accused of insult will be exempt from liability if he proves the truth. of his statements. What characteristics do the crime of slander and libel share? As we have seen, the crimes of slander and libel are very similar, and they differ mainly in the seriousness of the facts that are stated and attributed to the offended party. In both cases, these are private crimes that can only be prosecuted at the request of a party and by filing a complaint , unless the offended party is a public official, authority or agent and the facts refer to the exercise of their position, in which case they will be prosecuted. ex officio.
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The protected legal asset, in both cases, is the right to honor , both in relation to a natural person and a legal entity, since both can be harmed by a bad reputation. Although, in the case of insults, honor depends on social considerations and what the offended party himself may understand as insult, extremes that the court must assess. As for the active subject, only a natural person can be the author of the acts, but the offended party or passive subject can be a natural or legal person , with one reservation: in the crime of slander, only a legal person can be offended if the slander extends to the physical person of its representative. As private crimes that can be prosecuted at the request of the victim, the forgiveness of the offended party has the effect of extinguishing the criminal action , unless the victim is a minor or a person with a disability in need of special protection and eminently personal legal assets are affected ( article 130.1. 5th of the Penal Code.
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