Evolución histórica de la protección penal de la salud publica en España. Sobre el control de alimentos y fármacos

Abstract

Public health was one of the first legal goods of a collective nature to be recognised by the criminal legislator. The various criminal codes that have followed one another in Spain since the 19th century include different offences aimed at its protection. This legislation, with advances and setbacks, has had some very definite features since its origins which, as will be analysed, have been maintained throughout these two centuries. In this sense, this paper begins by studying the controversial and imprecise legal right of public health and then goes on to study the way in which the different socio-political contexts experienced by Spain, which gave rise to its respective Criminal Codes, have dealt with its protection, currently marked by the enormous influence of supranational regulations.