The crime of influence peddling involving actual influence in the Peruvian Criminal Code: A critique of its legal structure

Meza D.Q. · Estudios de Deusto (2026) · DOI: 10.18543/ed.3591

Resumen

Criminal law doctrine has developed positions both for and against incorporating influence peddling in its actual form as a crime, given that the peddler and purchaser of influence are individuals outside the administration, meaning that the former’s conduct would not jeopardize its proper functioning. In this context, the paper evaluates the compatibility of its typical structure with the technique of abstract danger classification and with the limiting principles of state ius puniendi, especially those of harmfulness and minimum intervention. The analysis leads to the conclusion that the criminal sanction for influence peddling is legitimate provided that the criminal offense is reformulated and that the effective intercession of the active subject before the public official is required as an objective element. In this way, the conduct of the trafficker is ex ante suitable for creating a prohibited risk to the proper functioning of the Administration, particularly with regard to its impartiality. © Universidad de Deusto • ISSN 0423-4847 • ISSN-e 2386-9062, Vol. 74/1, enero-junio 2026 http://www.revista-estudios.deusto.es/

Instituciones: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú