The noncompliance with the legal duty of support and its implications in San Pedro

Abstract

 In the San Pedro department, challenges are evident within the context of criminal  investigations in interpreting regulatory provisions regarding economic capacity in offenses  involving noncompliance with the legal duty of support, as set forth in article 225 of the Penal  Code. This difficulty arises primarily due to a dogmatic approach that focuses almost exclusively  on the economic capacity of the obligor. The objective is to shed light on the reality of a silent  yet significant problem that predominantly affects the harmonious development of children  or adolescents awaiting such support. This obstacle may stem from annulments issued due to  deficiencies in the articulation of facts in conviction rulings, charges, inconsistencies, interpretive  errors, and other parameters established by the highest judicial authority in previous years. In  criminal proceedings, the accused is unnecessarily subjected to a reassessment of their economic  capacity, a matter already evaluated by the specialized jurisdictional court. The study adopts a  qualitative, non-experimental, phenomenological, and hermeneutical research design with a  descriptive scope. It involves interviews with 39 complainants about their experiences, contrasting 
them with national regulations, doctrinal perspectives on the specific offense, and the presentation of  economic capacity as evidence within the criminal justice system. Additionally, in situ verification  of the procedural actions was conducted. The study concludes that investigative delays are caused  by factors such as insufficient institutional resources and issues in interpreting the law, which  implicitly exacerbate the quality of life for children and adolescents involved.