In response to the recent publications of the Supreme People's Court (SPC), which They focus exclusively on punishment and the threat of criminal penalties., It is imperative to remember that the functioning of the State in Cuba is governed by the Principle of Legality, enshrined in Article 9 of the Constitution. This principle obliges all officials and agents to strictly comply with current legislation. Therefore, there is no legal obligation to obey orders that lack a legal basis.
What are the real limits of the police and their auxiliaries?
It is essential to understand that the police and their auxiliaries are enforcers of the law, not its creators. They are not authorized to arbitrarily decide what can or cannot be done, but only to enforce what is expressly regulated by the law. Their uniform or their position of authority does not grant them the power to prohibit conduct based on their personal interpretations or the political interests of their superiors; they can only demand what the law expressly permits.
When an officer stops a person to identify them or prevent them from performing acts that are not prohibited by law—such as leaving their home without any sanction protecting them, frequenting certain places or areas, or expressing an opinion—without a legal norm to support it, He is not exercising authority, but committing an arbitrary and illegal act. These actions also violate fundamental rights such as freedom and personal integrity, the right to move freely and freedom of thought, conscience and expression, expressly guaranteed in articles 46, 52 and 54 of our Magna Carta.
What the Supreme Court did not communicate
Any action by the police or their auxiliaries outside the law, and whose purpose is to restrict the effective exercise of constitutional and human rights, constitutes an arbitrary interference in the private life of citizens, expressly prohibited by Article 51 of the Constitution. Demanding the cessation of an activity that is not prohibited by law is an overreach that deprives the police action of all legal validity. and, therefore, of its mandatory nature.
The TSP statement omits the fact that Cuban law also provides for consequences for officials who act in blatant violation of national legislation. The use of force to instill fear or paralyze citizens from exercising their rights can constitute crimes such as abuse of authority, malfeasance, torture, or cruel treatment., inhuman and degrading, among others. For these cases, the Penal Code It provides for penalties that can reach 3 years of deprivation of liberty in the first two cases, and up to 20 years of deprivation of liberty in the case of the crime of torture.
Authority is only legitimate, and citizens are obliged to obey it, when it submits to the legal framework and respects the fundamental freedoms of the population.