Professor of Criminal Law and Criminology at the University of the Basque Country. During his career, he has been recognized with the title of Honorable Professor in 2006 by the la Northwest University of Politics and Law (China), the Basque Country Award for the research in Social Sciences and Humanities (2009), and the Doctor Honoris Causa distinction in 2011 by the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (Romania) and in 2017 by the University of Huánuco (Peru). Currently he is the head of the Research Group in Crime Science and the Director of the Basque Institute of Criminology (IVAC-KREI), as well as Honorary President of the International Association of Criminal Law (AIDP-IAPL), member of the direction board of the International Society of Criminology, member of Jakiunde, and friend of the Basque Royal Society of Friends of the Country. His main lines of research include: drugs; Juvenile Criminal Law; prisons; victimology.

Key publications:

• De la Cuesta Arzamendi, J. L. (2001). "El derecho penal ante la criminalidad organizada: nuevos retos y límites". En Gutiérrez-Alviz Conrado, F. y Valcárce López, M. (Eds.), La cooperación internacional frente a la criminalidad organizada (pp. 85-123). Sevilla: Universidad de Sevilla.
• De la Cuesta Arzamendi, J. L. (2009). El principio de humanidad en Derecho Penal. Eguzkilore, (23), 209-225.
• De la Cuesta Arzamendi, J. L. y Odriozola-Gurrutxaga, M. (2018). "Marco normativo de la memoria histórica en España: legislación estatal y autonómica". Revista electrónica de ciencia penal y criminología, (20), 1-38.