Duress and obedience to superior orders

Abstract

Based on a case that has recently captured the attention of public opinion, this work analyses various issues involved in the attribution of criminal liability in relation to offences committed by repressive agents of the Military Regime. These issues refer to, on the one hand, the ques-tion of appealing to a generic criminal defence such as duress and on the other, the question of appealing to a specific criminal defence relating to the fact that the agent acted in obedience to superior orders, which in time raises the problem of assesing the possible criminal liability of the superior who gave the order.