Expert on Criminal Law

Born in 1955 in Donostia-San Sebastian (Guipúzcoa). Professor of Criminal Law at the School of Law in San Sebastián. Director of the Instituto Vasco de Criminología. Chairman of the International Association of Criminal Law. Director of the summer courses at the Universidad del País Vasco.
PhD in Law and Higher Diploma in Criminology. Has also studied at the universities of Pau (France), UCLovaina and KU.Leuven (Belgium) Max-Planck Institut für Strafrecht (Germany) DePaul University and University of Nevada-Reno (USA).
Main lines of research: dogmatism and pragmatism in criminal law; decriminalisation; essential presuppositions of criminal law; the new criminal code of 1995; legitimate use of force by agents of authority from criminal law; the principle of culpability; imputability; re-socialisation; the death penalty; imprisonment and its implementation; alternative sentences to imprisonment. Penal work; crimes of senior civil-servants; corruption; torture; anti-terrorism legislation; domestic abuse; genetic manipulation; criminal law on sex; cyber-crime; penal protection of the environment and land use planning; organised crime; education in criminology; victimology; citizen insecurity; international criminal law; EU criminal law; globalization and criminal justice; criminal law on minors and human rights; crime in the Basque Country.
He has published two individual books, three collective books and 2 text books; 22 editions and/or compilations; 76 contributions to collective books; 70 journal articles. Has participated in 59 subsidised research projects.
Guest lecturer at various universities in Belgium, Chile, France and China. Director of the Handbook of the Instituto Vasco de Criminología, "Eguzkilore” and member of the editorial committee of several scientific journals, of the international advisory committee of the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law (Freiburg, Germany), member of the governing board of the International Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Science (Syracuse, Italy), the board of directors the International Society of Criminology, Auditor of the ANECA; Adjunct to the Presidency of Eusko Ikaskuntza, member of the Board of Governors of the Orfeón Donostiarra, chairman of Hurkoa Fundazioa and member of the Board of Trustees of the Fundación Matia and the Fundación Ingema. He has been the vice-rector of the Gipuzkoa Campus of the Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea and Vicepresident for Gipuzkoa of the Sociedad de Estudios Vascos.
Extraordinary BA prize, second national prize on completion of university studies (Law), CAP completion of studies prize (Law), Extraordinary PhD Prize, second prize at the essay competition of the 26th international Year of Criminology.

He has been awarded with the Euskadi Prize for Investigation 2009.

de la Cuesta has also been recently elected President of the Counsel for Victims of Terrorism.

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