derecho de familia

Article 173 criminalizes incest, defined as sexual relations between persons over the age of 18 who are related either directly related (vínculo filial) or collaterally, up to the second degree of consanguinity. The offense is punishable by one to three years of imprisonment. A distinctive feature of this provision is that criminal action may be extinguished if the victim grants forgiveness, which operates as a bar to prosecution.

The Second Superior Court for the Protection of Children and Adolescents in Caracas granted a woman’s petition for divorce, which she based on her husband’s voluntary abandonment for more than five years under Article 185 of the Venezuelan Civil Code. The husband sought constitutional review, leading the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice to interpret Article 185.