Perpetration-by-means through an organized power apparatus. its applicability to massive crimes in the context of armed conflict in Colombia

Abstract

The figure of the collective perpetrators has not been exhaustively treated in Criminal Law. There is some reluctance to accept indirect manifestations of perpetration. In particular, Colombian Judges and Magistrates refuse to extend criminal responsibility to improper or indirect cases of coperpetration. This paper claims for the application of coperpetration-by-means both of individuals who are responsible and not responsible. This is crucial in the case of massive crimes as massacres, forced displacement and forced disappearance. This paper holds that this form of coperpetration fits in the more general system of perpetration, includes the concept of perpetration-by-means through an organized power apparatus and suggests further insights about these figures.