CULPABILITY REVISITED: TRAJECTORIES AND DEBATES IN MODERN GERMAN DOCTRINE

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze the evolution of the concept of criminal responsibility, highlighting the transition from traditional systems that adopted collective punishment and objective liability toward a modern understanding that links responsibility to culpability, understood as the psychological and moral relationship between the individual and the unlawful act. Furthermore, the study seeks to examine the role of culpability as a principle, foundation, and limit of criminal intervention, emphasizing its relevance to the individualization of responsibility and the legitimacy of punishment. The methodology adopted consists of a theoretical approach grounded in a critical analysis of legal, philosophical, and criminological doctrines, as well as a historical examination of the development of the concept of culpability in criminal law, with emphasis on its origin, evolution, and practical application.