Derecho penal constitucional.

The work that we now prologue, entitled Constitutional criminal law. Penal principlism, authored by the professor at the Externado University of Colombia and Vice Defender of the People, Esiquio Manuel Sánchez Herrera, is situated in the perspective of this model of foundation of criminal law based on the normative contents of the principles of the Constitution. In it, the author takes a stand for legitimizing criminal law based on constitutional principles, supporting in them the bases for the configuration of fundamental rights, which in turn impose special commitments to respect and protect the legal assets protected by criminal law in the social and democratic State of law.

Such a position is anchored in the idea by virtue of which a Constitution imposes on the State its organization with compliance with some principles, with norms with a high load of political content, making relevant values such as dignity, freedom, democracy, pluralism and guarantee of the rights of the members, but also, very especially, limitation on the punitive power of that State.