This essay draws a biographical sketch of one the most influential legal philosophers in the Spanish-speaking world, Ernesto Garzón Valdés. It analyses his intellectual affiliation and stages, offers a reflective summary of his main contributions to legal philosophy, and finally a brief introductory note on his fundamental Guerra y derechos humanos. In this essay Garzón Valdés focuses on Kantian autonomy and the conceptual framework he designed to address paternalism to argue that while non-armed interventions are potentially justifiable, armed interventions are unjustifiable. This conclusion is not based on sovereignty issues but on the fact that such interventions inevitably violate the rights of innocent individuals.
Keywords: Ernesto Garzón Valdés, Human Rights, Argentin Legal Philosophy, Kantian Autonomy, Concept of Law.