What is error in persona vel objecto?
Error in persona vel objecto is a legal term that refers to a mistake about the identity or characteristics of the object or person of an action. It is relevant for determining the criminal liability of the actor, especially in cases of intentional crimes. For example, A wants to shoot B's dog, but he kills B's child who was playing in the doghouse, because he mistook him for the dog in the dim light. Depending on whether the imagined and actual objects are equivalent or not in terms of the legal norm, the error in persona vel objecto can be either irrelevant or relevant for the actor's culpability¹².
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✅- If you are interested in learning more about this concept, you can read some academic articles that analyze it from different perspectives³⁴.
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The difference between error in persona and error in objecto is that the former is a mistake about the identity of a person, while the latter is a mistake about the identity of an object. Both are types of error of fact that can affect the criminal liability of the actor, depending on the legal system and the theory of fault.
✅For example, if A shoots B, thinking that B is C, A has committed an error in persona. If A shoots B's dog, thinking that it is C's dog, A has committed an error in objecto. In both cases, A may have acted intentionally or negligently with respect to the act of shooting, but not with respect to the identity of the target.
Different legal systems have different ways of treating these errors. Some possible approaches are:
✅- The error is irrelevant if it does not change the legal qualification of the act. For example, if A kills B, thinking that B is C, A is still guilty of murder, regardless of the identity of the victim.
✅- The error is relevant if it changes the legal qualification of the act. For example, if A kills B, thinking that B is C, and C is a foreign diplomat, A is not guilty of killing a foreign diplomat, but only of killing a person.
✅- The error is relevant if it affects the intent or negligence of the actor. For example, if A kills B, thinking that B is C, and A has a motive to kill C but not B, A may not have acted intentionally or negligently with respect to B.
You can find more information about this topic in the following sources:
✅- [Definición de error in obiecto o error in persona](^1^), a dictionary entry from the Pan-Hispanic Dictionary of Legal Spanish by the Royal Spanish Academy that explains the concept and its consequences in Spanish law.
✅- [THE ROLE OF Error IN Objecto IN South African Criminal LAW Revised](^2^), a paper by Kelly that analyzes the error in objecto and its relation to dolus in South African criminal law.
✅- [Error in Persona dan Error in Objecto Berikut Contoh Kasusnya](^3^), a blog post by Law Firm Advokat Surjo and Partners that explains the meaning and examples of error in persona and error in objecto in Indonesian law.
✅- [Ulasan Hukum Mengenai Error In Persona dan Error in Objecto](^4^), a web page from Lawyers Clubs that discusses the error in persona and error in objecto in various legal systems.
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