Jurist, Full Professor at the Portucalense University (since 1990), Counsellor Judge and President of the Constitutional Court (2017-2021), retired Full Professor of the Faculty of Law at the University of Coimbra, where he taught since 1973. Over the years, he has been entrusted with the coordination of practical and theoretical classes in the disciplines of Criminal Procedure, Criminal Law, and Criminology. He has served as a member of master's and doctoral thesis examination panels (both as an examiner and as a supervisor) in Portuguese and foreign universities. He has authored monographs, articles, notes, and various comments, both individually and in collaboration with others, in the areas of his research. Additionally, he has actively participated in numerous national and international events, delivering lectures, presenting papers, and participating in debates. In the context of involvement in the management bodies of the Faculty of Law at the University of Coimbra, he served several terms as a member of the Management Board, the Pedagogical Council, and the Assembly of Representatives. In his academic career, he also stands out for his presence in both national and international journals, not only with multiple publications but also with active contributions to their respective scientific committees. He was a founding member of various legal institutes, in whose management bodies he also participated. He was a scholarship holder at the Max-Planck-Institut für Ausländisches und Internationales Strafrecht (Freiburg). He co-authored the current Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure, actively participating in various projects for the revision of these legal texts. He was also a co-author of the Law on Crimes against the National Economy. Within the Council of Europe, he participated in various expert committees, including the Restricted Committee of Experts on Victims in the Framework of Criminal and Social Policy (Comité Restreint d'Experts sur la Victime dans le Cadre de la Politique Criminelle et Sociale), and the Restricted Committee of Experts on Sexual Exploitation, Pornography, Prostitution, as well as the Trafficking of Children and Young Adults (Comité Restreint d'Experts sur l'Exploitation Sexuelle, la Pornographie, la Prostitution, ainsi que le Trafic d´Enfants et de jeunes Adultes). Also within the scope of the Council of Europe, he was part of the Portuguese delegation to successive Conferences on Criminological Research (Conférences de Recherches Criminologiques), including the 15th on Sexual Behaviors and Attitudes and their Implications for Criminal Law (Comportements et Attitudes Sexuelles et leurs Implications sur le Droit Pénal ¿ 1982), the 16th on Research on Victimization (Recherches Sur la Victimisation, 1984), and the 17th on Interactions within the Criminal Justice System (Interactions au Sein du Système de Justice Pénale, 1986). In the realm of civic participation, he was a member of the Constituinte Assembly (Assembleia Constituinte), from 1975 to 1976, and also of the Parliament (Assembleia da República), from 1976 to 1995. Additionally, he actively participated in the two major constitutional revisions (1982 and 1989). Among the many distinctions he received, noteworthy are the Grand Officer of the Order of Prince Henry (Grande-Oficial da Ordem do Infante D. Henrique ¿ June 8, 2009), the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Christ (Grã-Cruz da Ordem Militar de Cristo (February 12, 2021) and the he Gold Medal of the Portuguese Bar Association (2018).