Presentación

Abstract

On the occasion of the forty-sixth edition of the Revista de Derecho, and fifty-six years since the creation of the Institute for Legal Research—Faculty of Legal Sciences at UNAH, I am pleased to present fourteen articles offering profound analysis and critical-legal reflection. These articles not only address current and challenging topics and offer proposals for regulatory or jurisprudential frameworks, but also include studies that explore aspects of legal history to foster a deeper understanding of the legal systems under examination.

Attorney Manuel Enrique Alvarado, a mentor to generations of lawyers, together with jurist Hilsa Danely García Aguilar, presents the need for a uniform global approach to transnational organized criminal groups, given their impact on coexistence within a framework of justice and peace at a global level. They also highlight the close relationship between corruption, human rights, and national civic security.

A prominent topic today—artificial intelligence—has become a central focus of professional and academic debate, and could not be overlooked by legal scholars. Attorneys Liza Escober and Alberto Rivas-Almendares open a debate on the human right to privacy in an increasingly interconnected world where information flows effortlessly. They offer an assessment of the Honduran draft law on personal data protection, concluding that it aligns with the guiding principles of the European Union Regulation, highlighting the project as a norm aimed at protecting human dignity.

Along the same lines, attorney René Fernando Rodríguez Aceituno argues that, in order to take advantage of the benefits that AI offers in Honduras, it is essential to manage its development and use through adequate regulation and proper compliance. Consequently, he proposes using the EU AI Regulation as a source for such regulation, while identifying the existing laws that could serve as a reference framework for Honduran AI legislation. Likewise, attorney Melba Aurora Rivera Reyes, a professor at our Faculty of Legal Sciences, provides a legal analysis of the use of artificial intelligence in the national financial system and how this use poses risks for financial consumers. She also proposes how the law should respond to safeguard the fundamental rights of users, emphasizing the core elements that should guide regulatory standards for AI in the financial sector.

Law and, in particular, legal norms cannot be separated from the historical context that gives rise to them, as this is essential for their proper interpretation and applicability. For this reason, the general overview of the codification process in Honduras between 1825 and 1880—presented by attorney José Manuel Cardona Amaya—is of great interest. His study highlights a period in our history that generated profound political impact and shaped Honduran legal identity through systematization.

The year 2025 is an electoral year in Honduras, making especially timely the article written by professor and Master in Political Science, Ezel Obed Hernández Gamero, together with licenciada in fieri Gracia María Canales Ordoñez. Their work examines Honduran political parties through the perspectives of political scientists Giovanni Sartori and Jordi Matas, incorporating the perceptions of law and history students. The result is a characterization of political parties in the present day.

Luca Pennisi, Master in Population Science and Development, offers a comparative analysis between Costa Rica and Honduras aimed at evaluating the prospects of demilitarization in Honduras. He concludes that such an aspiration is highly ambitious and faces significant obstacles.

Experienced attorney Epril Deycilia Hernández Palmer presents an in-depth analysis of adhesion contracts, concluding with a proposal of various measures aimed at placing contracting parties in a more balanced position, as well as structural reforms to effectively protect the party who may find themselves at a disadvantage.

This edition also includes research articles that will stimulate intense reflection among those passionate about criminal law. Doctors Jacobo Santos Espinal, César Stuardo Rivera Licona, and Professor Nery Mauricio Miranda Sanabria, from the perspective of fundamental guarantees, examine the precautionary measure of pretrial detention, assessing how it may have evolved into a mechanism that, rather than protecting an essential legal interest, results in the violation of the presumption of innocence until proven otherwise in court. Within the same field, Master Enrique Grillo—focusing on the essence of criminal law in protecting essential legal interests of society—explores the crime of human trafficking, presenting specialized doctrinal support and dominant jurisprudence that harmonize human rights with criminal law.

The doctoral candidate and distinguished professor of legal philosophy offers a proposal to analyze, interpret, and organize legal norms within an ever-changing social dynamic, integrating interconnected contexts and norms. His work is grounded in the objections proposed by legal philosophers Carlos Nino and Riccardo Guastini, as well as the framework put forward by Riccardo Guibourg.

Master and professor Marco Vinicio Montes Tavarone highlights the clear relationship between the right to work, as enshrined in Article 27 of the Constitution of the Republic, freedom of association, and effective judicial protection. He calls upon the State and its public servants to safeguard the right to work by ensuring unionization and judicial protection.

Doctoral candidate Anny Matamoros Pineda presents an analysis of the origins of international law—primarily from European and state-based sources—arguing for the urgent need for international law to continue evolving by incorporating the perspectives of regions and States whose economies are dependent or in transition.

Researchers Master Luis Ovidio Chinchilla, Master Gina Larissa Reyes Vásquez, and Licenciado César Jáuregui Alvarado provide a statistical overview of the 187 recommendations issued by OHCHR, organizing them into thematic populations, rights-based categories, and structural or contextual areas. They also link these recommendations with the SDGs, identifying the prevailing areas of focus aimed at strengthening the rule of law at this moment.

The Revista de Derecho, published by the Institute for Legal Research, is one of the Institution’s most important academic products, demonstrating how legal research is fundamental to improving society. We encourage you to read and reflect on each of the articles and invite you to participate with your own research contributions.