The new edition of “Lessons on Criminal Law” by Professor Doctor José de Faria Costa has just been published.
With these Lessons, the aim is to teach—by presenting, in a systematic, concise, and clear manner—the entire classical general theory of criminal offense. For this to be achieved, they must have a guiding thread; they must be concise; they must be understandable both in their structure and in their language, without being simplistic. In other words, they must serve as a source of learning that also encourages comprehensive and critical study.
This means that, as we proceed along this path, everything should be done to ensure that, for each problem, one does not create a bulge that resembles a monograph; that, for each topic, one does not indulge in the ambition of producing a proto-treatise; and that, for each question—often highly debatable and complex—clear and transparent positions are adopted, guided by reasonableness and prudence. As a general rule, the aim is to achieve simplicity in dealing with complex matters, and not to turn what is simple into foolish metaphors or circular musings of sterile hyper-complexity. Yet, one must never wish to sacrifice, foolishly, what is in itself dense and intricate on the altar of sterile formalism or clumsy simplism.