The publication of this journal was interrupted for some time due to reasons entirely beyond the control and will of its management. This was owed to financial difficulties that befell its former publisher in its business, ultimately leading to the cessation of its activities in that sector. Starting with this issue, the Revista de Direito Penal will be published by Editora Revista dos Tribunais, which assumes responsibility for its publication, hereby guaranteeing the regularity of its release. Three double issues, containing an expanded number of pages, will be published immediately to cover the second half of 1972 and both halves of 1973, after which the journal will resume a strictly punctual quarterly publication schedule. In this issue, we publish the extensive and meticulous study conducted by the Special Commission appointed by the Federal Council of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) on traffic offenses, along with the accompanying draft bill. It seemed important to us to immediately disseminate this work on one of the most difficult and complex problems, which in our country has reached the proportions of a genuine calamity. The study conducted by the Commission builds upon solid research into the subject, featuring a penetrating analysis and critique of current legislation. The draft bill prepared by the Commission (which Senator Nelson Carneiro presented to the Senate as a legislative bill) deserves the attention of all specialists. In the doctrinal section, we also publish an excellent study by Prof. Luiz Alberto Machado on the state of necessity and the requirement of alternative conduct (*exigibilidade de outra conduta*). The author examines the subject with authority, taking into account the innovations introduced on the matter by the new Penal Code. In this issue, we include three legal opinions (*pareceres*). By the master Roberto Lyra, on the crime of pledge fraud (*defraudação de penhor*); and by Justice Víctor Nunes Leal and Prof. José Frederico Marques, on the issue of jurisdiction for trying members of the Public Prosecution Office accused of crimes against the Union. The subject acquired great prominence in light of the omission in the Federal Constitution, which has now been addressed by ordinary law. The opinions examine the legal question in detail across its multiple aspects. The case law of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) has already settled on the non-existence of an ex officio appeal (*recurso de ofício*) in crimes involving the trafficking and illegal possession of narcotics or substances capable of causing physical or psychological dependence. The issue, however, continues to be a subject of controversy. In this issue, we publish a work by the eminent Justice Evandro Lins e Silva on the matter, aligning with the jurisprudence of our Supreme Federal Court, which strikes us as beyond criticism. In this issue, the reader will once again find the regular sections, including extensive news coverage and the case law review, presented in the style adopted by this journal. In the section on laws and draft bills, in addition to the previously mentioned OAB draft bill on traffic offenses, we include the Inter-American Convention on Extradition and the General Part of the Model Penal Code for Latin America (*Código Penal Tipo para a América Latina*). As is well known, the meetings of the Code’s Drafting Commission continue, currently examining the Special Part. However, the General Part of this ambitious project is already completed, having been approved at the plenary session held in São Paulo in 1971. The Portuguese text was prepared under the responsibility of Prof. João Bernardino Gonzaga. Starting with the next issue of this journal, which will appear shortly, we will begin publishing all preparatory materials relating to the drafting of the new Penal Code, set to take effect on July 1, 1974. These are extremely important elements for the study and understanding of the new Code. Heleno Cláudio Fragoso
Note: This text is an English translation of the original preface published in Portuguese in the Revista de Direito Penal.