Principle of minimum intervention in Mexican criminal law with respect to environmental crimes

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explain what the Principle of Minimum Penal Intervention consists of in the face of crimes committed to the detriment of the environment. The Principle of Minimum Intervention of Criminal Law in Mexico, also known as the last reason or Principle of Subsidiarity, is intended to act in situations that are extremely harmful to society. In this particular case, the Principle of Minimum Intervention of Criminal Law in the face of the serious environmental situation in Mexico, can be used as the immediate resource through which the environment is protected, in the understanding that it is a legal right protected by Criminal Law due to its social relevance. It is for this reason that the use of the Principle of Minimum Intervention of Criminal Law in the Mexican context not only allows the protection of individual interests, but also collective interests such as the environment and its surroundings, as long as there are authorities in the institutions in charge of imparting justice who are fully aware of the criminal law, competent, empowered and trained (not to say updated) to safeguard the human rights and constitutional guarantees of the Mexican population and the environment in which they develop.