The establishment of the 2019 penal code made the second edition -and at the same time an extensive reconstruction- of the "General Part" of criminal law necessary. The numerous -although not always obvious- issues related to its interpretation and application highlighted the need for a comprehensive and coherent processing of the new provisions, both independently and in relation to the preserved ones from the previous code. This effort was undertaken with the awareness that a penal code, as an intellectual construct with long-term ambitions, must not only correspond to the values of society and the cultural profile it defines, but also satisfy certain minimum requirements of coherence and internal consistency, without limiting itself to administrative instrumental logic or burdening itself with theoretical obsessions. Furthermore, the elaboration of a systematic processing of the relevant material is necessary in view of the existing gap between theory and practice, as well as the often observed interpretive inertia, which results in internationally established views being considered heretical in our country. I maintain the hope that this work will contribute to the establishment of the application of criminal law not in mechanistic repetition of simplifying interpretations, but in the creative understanding of the relevant provisions based on sound reasoning.

From this position, I would like to thank my colleagues Mr. Konstantinos Dermizakis, Mr. Iakovos Mamalis, and Ms. Dafni Skandali for their valuable contribution to the correction of the essays and the preparation of the tables, as well as Ms. Diamanto Halvatzoglou for her excellent and professional typesetting.