The journal Justice and Law, founded on June 4, 2003, is a scientific judicial publication edited bay de People´s Supreme Court of Cuba. It offers a peer-reviewed scientific forum for the dissemination of specialized articles related to legal science, particularly the administration of justice. It publishes original and unpublished contributions in Spanish and English over six months. These papers are primarily addressed to magistrates, judges and other Cuban court workers; also to other jurists, law students, and academics and professionals from diverse areas, both nationally and internationally, whose research results contribute to the continuous improvement of the judicial activity. The receipt of contributions, their editorial processing and publication are free of charge, under the non-commercial open access model, according to a creative commons Attribution/Recognition Non-Commercial CC-BY-NC 4.0 license. During its first 20 years of existence, the journal adopted a print format (ISSN: 1810-0191, RNPS: 0504), and latter also launched online (ISSN e: 3105-1170, RNPS: D-000016, Tomo I, Folio 16). It applies the OAI-PMH (Open Archive Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting) protocol, which enables interoperability with other information systems through efficient metadata collection in the publication languages. Its editorial practices are based on recognized international standards, especially those promoted by the Committee on Publications Ethics (COPE). More than 90% of the content included in each issue corresponds to scientific texts.
Radbruch’s Formula in the authorization of euthanasia
This article analyzes, from a iusphilosophical perspective, the scope and content of Radbruch’s Formula and the relevance of its implementation in judicial settings. Besides, the concept of euthanasia and the regulation that has been given to this institution in comparative law and Cuban law are studied. Finally, the possibility of applying Radbruch’s Formula by Cuban courts is evaluated, specifically to authorize the transition to dignified death for terminally ill patients.
Copyright (c) 2026 Justice and Law https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
The procedural rights of older adults refer to the set of guarantees, safeguards, and legal mechanisms designed to ensure that individuals aged sixty and over can meaningfully participate in judicial and administrative proceedings, exercise their rights effectively, and receive equal and dignified treatment throughout the process. These rights are grounded in fundamental principles such as equality, accessibility, non-discrimination, reasonable accommodation, due respect for autonomy, and the protection of dignity.
Access to Justice and Artificial Intelligence: A low-cost approach?
This article presents a critical reflection on the relationship between artificial intelligence and access to justice within the framework of contemporary postmodern society, marked by social instability, technological acceleration, and the weakening of ethical and cultural foundations. It argues that incorporation of technological tools in judicial practice offers significant opportunities to improve efficiency, transparency, and procedural speed, while also generating risks associated with dehumanization, digital dependency, and potential interference with judicial independence. The text emphasizes the importance of maintaining continuous human oversight in the use of artificial intelligence, preventing the improper delegation of judicial authority. It concludes that prudence, ethics, and the centrality of the human being must prevail over algorithms logic to preserve the moral and axiological essence of law. Ultimately, it calls for a balanced integration between technological innovation and republican values, reaffirming that true justice can only endure upon a moral and humanistic foundation.
Regulatory Power in the Rule of Law: Foundations and Judicial Oversight
The extensive regulatory activity of the Public Administration brings to the forefront the need for citizens to have sufficient guarantees to ensure that this power operates within constitutional boundaries. Verifying the legality of regulations thus becomes an unavoidable condition for fulfilling the postulates of the democratic State. Judicial review seeks to verify that the regulatory power is exercised in accordance with the rule of law, thereby banishing any hint of arbitrariness. This requires an examination of the legal nature of administrative activity, its foundational premises, essential characteristics, and the framework within which the Public Administration must operate. This paper is devoted to this task. Concurrently, it systematizes the theoretical foundations of regulations and establishes guidelines for improving the mechanisms of judicial review.
Surrogacy and Adoption: The issues of equality and effective judicial protection
The text examines the legal treatment of surrogacy in Spain, where the practice is not permitted. Despite the nullity of surrogacy contracts, the analysis focuses on how jurisprudence, particularly rulings STS 835/2013 and STC 28/2024, prioritizes the best interests of the child, their right to identity, and to family life. To register filiation in the Civil Registry, it is established that the ordinary channels of the Spanish legal system must be used: establishing biological paternity (when the commissioning male is the genetic father) and the creation of an adoptive bond by the intending mother, provided the existence of a stable and consolidated family unit is proven, as reinforced by the Instruction of April 28, 2025.
Sustainable justice and positive special prevention in economic criminal law
Sustainable justice is presented as a complementary paradigm to the criminal justice system, making it more effective in different contexts. This perspective proposes integrating sustainability principles into criminal justice, prioritizing reparation, prevention, and social reintegration. Within this framework, positive general prevention reinforces confidence in the normative order through effective sanctions, especially in economic criminal law, where frequent impunity undermines public trust. Likewise, positive special prevention offers a restorative approach functional to punishment, aimed at transforming the offender, whether individual or legal entity. Its implementation, through structural measures, compliance, and restorative processes, fosters a transparent business culture and criminal sustainability, strengthening the system in the area of ​​economic criminal law. In this way, a more rational, efficient, and humanistic model is consolidated, which, through sustainable justice, reinforces the rule of law.
Judicial protection against vicarious violence: Institutional mistreatment of mothers and childrens
This article analyzes vicarious violence as one of the most extreme forms of gender-based violence, defined by the use of children as instruments to inflict harm on their mothers. It reviews the spanish and international legal frameworks, focusing on effective judicial protection and institutional practices that perpetuate secondary victimization. It also explores the psychosocial consequences for women and children, highlighting the gap between law and judicial practice. Finally, it proposes measures to strengthen judicial protection and ensure a comprehensive, sensitive, and effective justice system for victims.
Judicial protection for vulnerable groups
Given the transformations that have taken place since the end of the 20th century in the legal system for the protection of human rights, this article aims to describe the position that the Argentine State has developed to guarantee these rights, with an emphasis on the protection of vulnerable groups. To this end, a descriptive, qualitative study was conducted, using documentary and legal research as the main data collection tools. This allowed for an understanding not only of the evolution of the struggle for human rights at the international level, but also of how representatives of the Argentine State have received this influence and incorporated it into the legal framework for the protection of so-called vulnerable groups. Following the work carried out, it is evident that, in dialogue with global transformations, Argentina has implemented a process of progressively incorporating laws aimed at improving access to justice and reducing structural inequalities. Despite this, the results show that, even though important legal tools have been developed, challenges persist in the effective judicial implementation of recognized rights, which requires rethinking state strategies to guarantee inclusive and effective legal protection.
Establishment of Criminal Liability for Facts Committed by Artificial Intelligence
This article analyzes the challenges inherent in determining criminal liability for harmful acts committed by artificial intelligence systems. Proceeding from the distinction between weak artificial intelligence: predictable and controlled by human, and strong artificial intelligence, characterized by autonomous learning, it examines the inadequacy of traditional models of criminal imputation, such as mediate perpetration or product liability, to resolve the issues posed by artificial intelligence. The text explores European Union proposals, centered on human control and risk management; debates the potential creation of an electronic personhood for autonomous systems; and concludes that, while the current framework prioritizes human supervision, the evolution towards more autonomous AI may necessitate a reconceptualization of the theory of crime and criminal liability.
Judicial decisions in Artificial Intelligence times
Artificial intelligence has become part of our daily lives, reaching every corner of our existence: work, culture, leisure, and health are all governed, even when we don´t realice, by artificial intelligence. The administration of justice and judges and magistrates in their jurisdictional responsibilities are no exception to this phenomenon. This paper presents concepts that allow jurists understand what artificial intelligence is, how it works, and how it is already being used by the administration of justice in Spain. It highlights the advantages that the implementation of artificial intelligence tools brings to an overburdened and underresourced justice system, but also underlines the threats that the application of AI poses to the process and procedural guarantees. In this scenario, the author explores —from the perspective of Spanish regulations— whether it is possible, today, for artificial intelligence tools to replace human judges and, if so, the pros and cons of such a replacement. This article offers a legal and doctrinal analysis of the use of Artificial Intelligence in the Spanish justice system. It begins with a review of regulations and a study of recent legal scholarship, identifying permissible uses (management and assistance) and the limitations imposed on the automation of decision-making.
The application of the artificial intelligence to Justice
Artificial intelligence has arrived to revolutionize social reality and, in particular, the field of law, finding a wide field of action in the jurisdictional field. It is true that artificial intelligence can be a valuable support tool for the generation of legal solutions within a framework of productivity and continuous learning in the optimization of routine and quantitative tasks and can even reduce judicial delays and the duration of proceedings. However, here we examine the serious risks involved in the misuse of this tool in the administration of justice. We are called upon to remain vigilant in the face of possible abuses or overreach that could jeopardize the basic moral demands or values of society to the point of provoking a perverse change in the anthropological paradigm.
Conflicting intelligences? A reflection on justice
This paper critically examines the increasing integration of artificial intelligence into the legal field under the question: what happens to judgement when decision-making tends to become calculation? It argues that such a substitution alters the very meaning of law. Automation introduces new tools and transforms the conditions under which law is understood, argued and decided, progressively displacing the subject responsible for the decision. From a critical perspective, it is argued that judging is not equivalent to processing information or recognising patterns, but rather to exercising a form of practical reason that integrates interpretation, weighing of principles and responsibility towards others. This deliberative dimension, inseparable from legal experience, cannot be reproduced by systems lacking consciousness and moral accountability. The problem, therefore, is much more than to determine if machines can imitate certain cognitive operations, but to clarify whether justice without a subject is still recognisable as such.
Ethical Issues of Applying Justice in Ibero-America: Independence, impartiality and integrity
The Ibero-American Judicial Summit has been successful in choosing judicial ethics as a privileged area of international cooperation because it has reinforced this mechanism for legitimizing the exercise of the judicial function, has stressed the importance of judicial principles and virtues and has promoted the institutional interpretation of ethics applicable to judges. The Ibero-American Code of Judicial Ethics in 2006 has facilitated the adoption of ethical codes where they did not exist and has helped overcome suspicions towards this control procedure. The codification of principles and virtues has allowed a better systematization and a greater sensitivity towards aspects that the more traditional positivism had disregarded, in relation to the independence of judges, such as imperviousness towards any external interference; with regard to impartiality as a manifestation of neutrality and equidistance of the judge in relation to the parties; or as regards integrity as probity in the conduct of the judge instilling public confidence in the judiciary. Institutional interpretation is necessary to maintain codes as living instruments that guide judges in resolving everyday ethical dilemmas that have significance in their professional lives; This work is being properly developed by the Ibero-American Commission on Judicial Ethics.
Ibero-American Commission on Judicial Ethics
Executive Legality and Its Current Manifestation in Cuba
This study addresses the principle of legality and its expressions in the context of the enforcement of custodial sentences (executive legality), with particular emphasis on the general and prison-related guarantees, that this principle entails to make respect for dignity and rights of convicted persons effective. It also includes assessments of compliance with the principle before mentioned in the current Cuban prison context, the progress made and the limitations that still persist under the current legal regime in this area, which allows to argue concrete proposals to transform these barriers.
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ISO 9001:2015 in the Administration of Cuban Justice
To ensure that the judicial function meets the demands imposed by this public service, it is not enough for judges to know the law and interpret it; it is also necessary to provide their performance with instruments that pursue this objective. Contextualizing the work carried out by the courts in current times and using management tools that are applied in their daily work is the responsibility of those who work in the sector, in their capacity as guarantors of effective judicial protection. Quality management, in accordance with NC-ISO 9001:2015, contributes to this perspective. This article examines the Cuban approach to this issue, in contrast to other experiences outside the country.
Transparency and Access to Information: Right and Challenge
Effective compliance with the principles of transparency and access to information allows for better oversight of judicial proceedings and promotes the efficiency and effectiveness of the administration of justice, making it essential to strengthen the legal framework that implements them. This article examines the treatment of this topic in the Cuban judicial system. To this end, it draws on the historical and conceptual development of both principles, studies the constitutional texts of countries such as Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela, analyzes current regulations in detail, and assesses current challenges and possible improvement strategies, given the importance of having accessible content, well-defined exceptions, and limits as a guarantee of proper judicial functioning.
Asset Seizure in Light of Cuban Civil Law
The seizure of property through the light of the Cuban Civil Law is assumed as a precautionary measure, however the substantive norm of that matter doesn´t make any reference to it. The research presents the doctrinal and normative treatment that conventional seizure has received in several countries, considered a custody contract due to the insufficient regulation of the institution in the Cuban legal system. The paper investigates whether it would be feasible to incorporate such a perspective in Cuba. The use of several scientific methods allowed to obtain a historical and comparative doctrinal systematization of seizure of assets, carry out a diagnosis of its shortcomings at the national level and construct a theoretical proposal that can be incorporated into the Civil Code.
Judicial Oversight of Administrative Inaction
The Public Administration’s commitment to the principles of constitutional supremacy and legality imposes due diligence on it, in accordance with the role it must play in a context of social responsibility. This is a real and concrete requirement for public action, in the service of citizens, to respond to the constitutional principles of effectiveness and efficiency. When it fails to do so or remains inactive, it violates these principles, essential for good administration, as a mechanism through which the State materializes its commitment to society and ensures that public resources and services are managed efficiently, for the benefit of all citizens. The Law offers citizens procedural tools to combat administrative passivity. At the national level, these tools are regulated in Articles 38 and 49 of the Administrative process law. Although they can be improved, they represent a step forward in the legal protection. This paper, critically, approaches the contents of these provisions.
The Guarantee Judge in the Current Criminal Process
The 2019 Constitution of the Republic of Cuba marked a milestone for the Cuban legal system, especially in the criminal justice system, which has undergone a profound transformation. Of all the authorities involved in matters of this nature, judges face the greatest challenges. In the exercise of their function of administering justice, the criminal judge stands as one of the main guarantors of compliance with due process, now explicitly recognized in the Supreme Constitution. This has posed a significant challenge for judicial activity, which must adapt its methods to face the constant and complex challenges posed by this new scenario and contribute to consolidating the legal security demanded by Cuban society. This article aims to analyze the theoretical and legal foundations for the role of the judge, as guarantor of rights, in current criminal proceedings. To do so, it employs qualitative methodology, the theoretical methods of analysis-synthesis, induction-deduction, and the document review technique. The results contribute to meeting the standards on which the Cuban judicial system is based: effective and transparent justice.
Expert Opinion on Medical Negligence: Challenges and Perspectives
This study critically examines Resolution 458 (2019) of the Cuban Ministry of Public Health, a legal instrument that regulates the functioning of expert commissions, in cases of alleged medical negligence resulting in fatal or harmful consequences, and, although it represents a significant regulatory advance, it shows significant limitations in its institutional design, operating procedures, and the delimitation of powers, which underscores the need for legislative reforms to improve its effectiveness and adaptation to the criminal justice system.
On the Judicial Application of International Treaties
The theory of legal argumentation as a tool for procedural law provides judicial decisions with coherence and rationality, which is essential for judges in their constitutional role to understand their role in legal certainty and the impact of decisions on society. Judges must base their rulings on values, principles, and norms, using rationality to ensure the effectiveness of their decisions. This implies that judgments must be reasoned, not only describing the process followed but also adequately justifying the criteria adopted, in compliance with the principle of legality. Currently, it is necessary to examine the commonalities between the treaties and their relationship with criminal law and national regulations, in order to identify the grounds that limit the use of their contents in judicial rulings in criminal matters. The study focuses on the insufficient use of international treaties in the reasoning of criminal sentences in Cuba, arguing that the correct identification and application of the treaty content has a positive impact on the quality of the reasoning behind judicial decisions.
Justice Through a Feminist Lens: Guidelines for Rewriting Judgments
The gender perspective is a methodological tool that helps to understand how societies construct roles, behaviors, and attributes associated with men and women and reproduce them. Therefore, this approach is crucial for addressing gender-based violence, given its connection to inequality and the social structures that perpetuate it. In particular, linking it to the crime of murder is essential for judging the most extreme and tragic dimension of this social problem. This study aims to systematize this relationship, in its theoretical and historical dimensions, and focuses on judicial argumentation, highlighting the main successes and failures identified in the analyzed judgments, corresponding to 2024. On this basis, recommendations and proposals for argumentative guidelines, with a gender perspective, are offered for the continuous improvement of Cuban judicial practice.
Elderly People and Deprivation of Liberty: Intersectionality and Inclusive Justice
International legal instruments protect women against all forms of discrimination, especially when their gender is compounded by other factors of vulnerability, such as aging and deprivation of liberty, which impact the exercise of their rights as human beings. The intersectionality that arises from the confluence of these three causes (gender, old age, deprivation of liberty) motivates the reflections and proposals in this article, which explores the criminal law reform implemented in Cuba since the 2019 Constitution. A special focus, from a gender perspective, on the substantive, procedural, and executive regulations in this area allows us to identify gaps in the treatment of elderly women serving custodial sentences and to establish the theoretical and legal assumptions that should support their protection. At the same time, it opens the door to future studies on the criminological, regulatory, and judicial standards that should serve as the basis for the protection of this age group, according to their specific characteristics.
Access to Justice for Persons Deprived of Liberty
The 100 Rules of Brasilia recognise deprivation of liberty as a cause of vulnerability and urge the States Parties to adopt measures aimed at ensuring access to justice for those in such a condition. Being able to approach the justice bodies, through administrative or judicial channels, is essential for individuals to exercise their human rights, as recognised by the Constitution and the laws. This article approaches this topic and, through the exegetical method, demonstrates the existence of UN instruments that strengthen access to justice for the aforementioned population segment, with a special focus on individuals who also face other situations of vulnerability (women, children, people with disabilities, and the elderly) and their implementation in the domestic law of Cuba. Similarly, the obligation of the operators of the Ibero-American judicial systems to guarantee fairness and procedural equality for these individuals is addressed, due to their involvement in achieving the SDGs, specifically Goal 16 (Peace, justice and strong institutions), in the building of inclusive societies.
The Socialism and The Rule of Law: Reconstruction from a New Paradigm
This article analyzes the socialist Rule of Law as a legal paradigm with an institutional logic and ideological foundations distinct from the Western model. It argues that this divergence does not represent a mere delay, but a profound conceptual difference regarding the purpose of law and the role of state power. The study examines the structural characteristics of this system, highlighting the unified leadership of the ruling party as a guarantee of stability and executive efficiency, in contrast to the fragmentation that can arise in multi-party systems. The study explores how popular sovereignty is expressed through class representativeness and collective interests, and how a synergy between rule by virtue and the rule of law is sought. Unlike the separation of powers, the socialist model prioritizes a functional division of competencies to ensure cohesion and responsiveness. The text concludes by advocating for overcoming the singular Western perspective and adopting a pluralistic approach to reinterpret the theoretical possibilities of the socialist rule of law and position it as a legitimate alternative in global legal discourse, fostering a dialogue between legal civilizations.
On Constitutional Protection and the Keys That Safeguard It
The text systematizes the regulations contained in the Cuban Law on the Process for the Protection of Constitutional Rights, defining it as a procedural institution for the protection of constitutional rights, the purpose of which is to enable these rights to be effectively defended in court, to achieve their restitution and compensation for damages caused, whether material or moral. It explains the prerequisites for the admissibility of a claim, the cases for which the process is provided, the nature and grounds for its processing in court, the involvement of the parties, and aspects related to legal standing and procedural appeal. It also describes essential elements regarding the claim, its response, audiences, and judgment, including their appeal and enforcement. Finally, special reference is made to the legal and social significance of the alleged violation, a legal criterion that determines the admissibility of the claim.
legal and social significance of the violation
To Juan Ramón Rodríguez Gómez, in memoriam
Quality in Justice: Insights from Comparative Law
Contributing to the improvement and stability of quality, efficiency and productivity, and thus raising the competitiveness of production and services, promoting consumer protection and increasing discipline in compliance with regulatory documents are some of the guidelines for quality work, recognised in the Policy on Standardisation, Metrology, Quality and Accreditation, approved in Cuba. The public sector must assume strategic transformation and modernisation processes aimed at the specialisation and continuous improvement of services, with the citizen at the centre of the management model, a challenge that is present in the administration of justice. The aim of this paper is to refer to the results of the comparative analysis carried out between the quality management systems that employ the approaches of the ISO 9001:2015 standard in the justice services of the Superior Court of Justice of North Lima (Peru), the Superior Court of Justice of Argentina, the Justice System of Colombia and the Dominican Republic, and the People's Supreme Court of Cuba, in order to identify the common elements and the differences between them.