Manuel Lopez Rey is undoubtedly one of the most prominent figures in contemporary Criminology today. We have welcomed several works from the old master, and in this issue, we publish his important “Criminological Manifesto,” which is destined to have a major impact. Also included in our doctrine section is a study presented by the director of this journal at the colloquium held by the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law in Freiburg im Breisgau, focusing on the comparative method in Criminal Law and Criminology.We likewise publish a notable report by Prof. Severin Carlos Versele on judicial procedures and other forms of social control in crime prevention, in which the excellent master presents insightful observations on the issues surrounding the judicial system in criminal matters, from the critical perspective that dominates Criminology today.Still in this section, the reader will find an important work by Professor Eduardo Novoa Monreal on the alternatives and critical crossroads of today’s criminal law, in which the Chilean master—currently exiled in Venezuela—acutely examines the crisis of Legal-Penal Dogmatics.The doctrine section concludes with the fine lecture by Prof. Manoel Pedro Pimentel on the lawyer and the reality of Criminal Law, delivered at the opening of the 1st Meeting of Criminal Lawyers, held at the Law School of USP.In the Current Affairs and Communications section, we publish three works: the report by Professor Francisco Muñoz Conde presented at the Varna Colloquium, organized by the AIDP (“Toward a Critical Science of Criminal Law”); a report on prostitution in Portugal; and the research project on criminality conducted by Professors Juarez Cirino dos Santos and Sérgio Tancredo.This issue includes our regular sections featuring bibliographic reviews (noting new books received) and case law comments, highlighted once again by the studies of Prof. Damásio E. de Jesus.Heleno Cláudio Fragoso
Note: This text is an English translation of the original preface published in Portuguese in the Revista de Direito Penal.