The appreciation of the cultural valuation in the mistake of law

Abstract

This article explores the role of the particular cultural valuation in the context of the mistake of law, from the standpoint of the theory of norms, defending the viewpoint that the judge is legally obligued to weigh this cultural valuations in his decision. The author presents a concept of mens rea (visión de la antijuridicidad) and on this ground the author presents the conceptual delineation of the necessary conditions tu afirm the presence of mens rea (conciencia de la antijuridicidad). Within this framework the author suggests the reformulation of the requirements of mens rea, into a gradual nomenclature regarding the following classification: conocimiento (knowledge), comprehension (comprensión) and internalization (internalización). It's also developed the idea of a complementary defense as a defense strategie in the context of a cultural defense, as long as it's defined as the existence of a differenced evaluative cosmovision of the person who commits the crime.