El iluminismo penal en la obra de manuel de rivacoba

Abstract

With a clear sense of homage to the memory of the distinguished Spanish Professor Dr. Manuel de Rivacoba y Rivacoba, this article enhances his steady research work on the era and principles of criminal Illuminism, making explicit the degree of consistency with which he became attached to it and showed it throughout his vast scientific production. This article also emphasizes Rivacoba’s view of eighteenth-century political and cultural phenomena, and it makes evident that his interest was not that of the scholar who indulges in ancient things, but that of the realistic scientist who seeks a solid response to the real challenges posed by criminal policies. All in all, the article is not confined to the way in which he conceives the guiding principles of the liberal penal law, but it also refers to the monographic studies he devoted to the main representatives of the reform movement, on many occasions doing justice to the character of some of them and stressing the importance they deserve, as is the case of Lardizábal, Marat, and Robespierre.