The multiple interferences between limitation periods and criminal proceedings reflect on the difficult attempt to balance primary and essentially heterogeneous interests: on the one hand, the need to protect the accused from the «punishment of trial» and, on the other, the need to provide the criminal justice system with adequate time for prosecuting and adjudicating criminal offenses as a way to effectively protect the interests harmed by the commission of certain crimes. The matter is undoubtedly complex, as the issues and implications it gives rise to are multiple and varied. The awareness that these considerations cannot be limited to a debate at a merely domestic level explains the reasons that have led to the drafting of the current special issue of DPCE, edited by Simone Lonati: the chosen perspective, that embraces the analyses of statutes of limitations in 23 legal systems in three continents, cannot be regarded as a simple juxtaposition of the rules and legal devices in force in systems of law that differ from one another but, rather, as a way to know through diversity.