The protection of equality and non-discrimination on the Spanish Criminal Code. Mistakes and successes in the last legal reforms

Abstract

In this paper, we study the last reforms of the Criminal Code oriented to expand the protection against discrimination and its application in jurisprudence. We will specially focus on the circumstances suspected of discrimination incorporated into the catalogs of each criminal type, albeit unsystematically. We will also deal with the recent final clause added to article 22.4 of the Criminal Code, which broadens the subjective scope of application. We finally criticize the assimilation of the category of «hate crimes» rather than the preferred solution of «anti-discrimination Criminal Law»