La incesante aproximación del derecho penal de menores al derecho penal de adultos

Resum

Although the Ley Orgánica 5/2000, of 12th January, regulating juvenile responsibility was created in the certainty that, from a criminal policy perspective, juvenile responsibility cannot be assimilated to adults responsibility, -in accordance with international norms on this issue-, this original philosophy has been practically abandoned in view of the latest modifications of this law. In this article, it is shown the troublesome fact that our juvenile criminal law �following a widespread policy in other neighboring countries- is progressively acquiring a more repressive character, while experimenting a gradual loss of its specificity, coming closer to adults criminal law. To illustrate that this tendency is obvious in the case of Spain, the changes carried out in juvenile law are analyzed, which seem to amount to attacks to the substantial principles that should inspire it.