The Brazilian National Group of the International Association of Penal Law (AIDP) and the Instituto de Ciências Penais of Rio de Janeiro held a national colloquium in Rio de Janeiro, from October 20 to 23, 1982, in preparation for the 13th International Congress of Penal Law, to be held in Cairo in 1984. The colloquium addressed two of the congress’s themes: crimes of omission and economic criminal law. Professors Eduardo Novoa Monreal, currently exiled in Venezuela, and Eugenio Raúl Zaffaroni, of Buenos Aires, were invited as special guests. The opening session was presided over by Professor Cândido Mendes, during which Professor Zaffaroni delivered a lecture. The working sessions unfolded over the following days, with the participation of numerous visiting professors. Professor Novoa delivered a lecture on economic criminal law. The colloquium was presided over by Professor Heleno C. Fragoso, who also delivered a lecture on crimes of omission and economic criminal law in the Brazilian experience. This issue of the journal is entirely dedicated to the colloquium. It opens with the notable general report by Professor Alcides Munhoz Netto, of the Faculty of Law of the Federal University of Paraná (“Crimes of Omission in Brazil”), followed by the contributions of Eugenio Raúl Zaffaroni (“Current Overview of the Problem of Omission”), Heleno C. Fragoso (“Crimes of Omission in Brazilian Law”), Everardo da Cunha Luna, of the Faculty of Law of the Federal University of Pernambuco (“The Crime of Omission and Criminal Liability for Omission”), Heitor Costa Júnior, of the Cândido Mendes Faculty of Law (“Theories Regarding Omission”), Ricardo Antunes Andreucci, of the Faculty of Law of the University of São Paulo, and David Teixeira de Azevedo (“Omission and Criminal Policy”). The section on economic criminal law opens with the general report by Professor Nilo Batista (“Conception and Principles of Economic Criminal Law, Including Consumer Protection, in Brazil”), followed by the study of Professor Eduardo Novoa Monreal (“Reflections on the Determination and Delimitation of Economic Offenses”) and the contributions of Heleno C. Fragoso (“Economic Criminal Law and Business Criminal Law”), René Ariel Dotti, of the Faculty of Law of the Federal University of Paraná (“Economic Criminal Law and Consumer Protection”), Miguel Reale Jr., of the Faculty of Law of the University of São Paulo (“Unfair Competition and Diffuse Interests in Brazilian Law”), Virgílio Luiz Donnici, of the Cândido Mendes Faculty of Law (“Brazil: A Country Invaded by Violence, Impunity, and the Abuses of Economic Power”), João Mestieri, of the Faculty of Law of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (“Economic Criminal Law”), Juarez Cirino dos Santos, of the Faculty of Law of the State University of Londrina (“Economic Criminal Law”), João Marcelo de Araújo Júnior, of the Faculty of Law of the Rio de Janeiro State University (“Economic Crime and the Offense of Fraudulent Management”), and Raul Chaves (“Concept and Principles of Economic Criminal Law”).Brazilian criminal law scholarship, which stands on equal footing with that of the countries with the most refined legal traditions, thus makes an expressive contribution to the major International Congress to be held in 1984, having been able to count on the participation of Professor Eduardo Novoa Monreal, who will serve as one of the Congress’s general rapporteurs. To the distinguished master and to Professor Eugenio Raúl Zaffaroni, two great friends of Brazil, we express our profound gratification for the honor of their presence and our sincere gratitude for their outstanding contribution. Heleno Cláudio Fragoso
Note: This text is an English translation of the original preface published in Portuguese in the Revista de Direito Penal.