It is with great pleasure that we present to the Brazilian public the remarkable study by Professor Alessandro Baratta on the integrated model of criminal science, which provides a penetrating critical analysis of criminology and penal legal dogmatics—areas in which the distinguished scholar has notably excelled. We have previously published other works by Professor Baratta, who is widely recognized by our legal scholars. In the doctrinal section, we further publish the lecture delivered in Rio de Janeiro by Professor Jorge de Figueiredo Dias, Chair at the University of Coimbra, who recently visited us, on “Criminal Law and the Substantive Rule of Law” (“Direito Penal e Estado de Direito Material”). It is an outstanding study in which the eminent professor treats the subject with masterful erudition. We also include in this section works by Professor Roberto Lyra Filho (on Radical Criminology) and Professor Nilo Batista (on Indigenous Criminal Law), both of which command the reader’s attention through their rigor and precision in analyzing their respective subjects.In the Comments and Current Affairs section, we publish contributions by Professor Manoel Pedro Pimentel (on the criminogenic society) and Professor Heitor Costa Júnior (on Tobias Barreto), as well as the suggestions submitted by our Institute regarding the draft reform of the General Part of the Penal Code (for which Professor Nilo Batista served as rapporteur), together with observations prepared by a Special Committee established by the Criminal Executions Court to review Title V of said draft bill.In the Case Law Comments section, contributions appear by Celso Delmanto, Delphim Salum de Oliveira, and Nilo Batista.The volume concludes with the customary sections: Book Reviews (featuring a note on the third edition of Marc Ancel’s book) and Laws and Bills, which presents the controversial state law enacted in Rio de Janeiro regarding halfway house imprisonment (prisão-albergue), as well as an advisory opinion issued by our Institute—drafted by rapporteurs Nilo Batista and Alexandre Moura Dumans—concerning the bill, ultimately enacted into law, that eliminated the extinction of criminal liability upon payment of customs duties in cases of contraband/smuggling (descaminho).Heleno Cláudio Fragoso
Note: This text is an English translation of the original preface published in Portuguese in the Revista de Direito Penal.