Dr. José Casañas Levi, lawyer and former prosecutor, said that the application of anti-COVID vaccines to people under 85 years of age is “unethical and reprehensible” conduct, which should be administratively sanctioned. However, the jurist has doubts about whether it is a crime, since it is not expressly configured in the regulations. Regarding whether it is a crime of appropriation, he pointed out that this seems more or less debatable, but he did not assure that there is criminal conduct.
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April 16, 2021 – 12:26
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Constitutional lawyer José Casañas Levi said that people who went to be vaccinated without having the minimum age of 85 years, knowing that it was not theirs, committed ethically reprehensible conduct, but he did not see abuse of authority or embezzlement, he said.
For the jurist and former prosecutor, the debate lies in whether or not what happened is a crime that can be punished and whether or not it is contemplated in the Criminal Procedure Code.
“I am inclined to believe that it is not a crime, because the principle of legality has as a guarantee that the conduct must be expressly described. The crime of appropriation is being raised, a punishable act against property; that is, when a person performs acts that only the owner can perform and vaccines are considered to be a movable thing. But I have some doubts about whether this crime is intended for this type of conduct, because it is within the scope of protection of the norm, in which these (norms) are drawn up for a certain specific type of conduct ”, explained the expert.
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On the other hand, he said he had doubts about whether there is a misappropriation in this case, as he pointed out that the vaccine “is an element made available by the State because citizens have the right to receive it.”
“There is an administrative offense”
He stressed that, although the age group was not the one corresponding to those who applied immunity and that is ethically reprehensible, “like any citizen, they also have the right to receive the vaccine.”
“It does not seem so clear to me that it is a crime. There is an administrative offense, but turning it into an appropriation fraud seems like a big step to me, “he said.
With regard to those who applied the vaccine to people knowing that it was not theirs, Casañas stated that “they violated a rule that they indicated, but it is not categorical that they did so with criminal behavior.”
Read More: They applied vaccines outside the age range in Presidente Franco
Only what is expressly provided is punished, it says
He pointed out that the principle of legality says “that only someone who has done something that is expressly provided for in the regulations can be punished, and that conduct of taking advantage of a situation to use vaccines is not something that is foreseen,” he said.
Regarding the dean of a university in Presidente Franco, who argued that he was “induced” to apply the biological test, Casañas Levi remarked that this justification is not valid, “because the Civil Code says that no one can claim ignorance of the law. It is my obligation to know that I cannot get vaccinated, ”he said.
Legal loopholes
The lawyer questioned: “Can people who were improperly vaccinated be punished for something that corresponds to them beyond the fact that it has not been administratively resolved yet?”, And held the Executive responsible for these legal loopholes.
“They were wrong when they did not deal with the provisions that were to regulate these behaviors, because now we are looking for the return to find what is the crime that we can apply, and that is how a rule of law should not work,” remarked José Casañas Levi.
He concluded by emphasizing that the only crime that appears to him “more or less debatable” is that of appropriation, but that beyond that the conduct that “must be administratively sanctioned.”
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