The Faculty of Law of the Universitat de València has completed 520 laps of the sun since its foundation in 1499. Since then, many illustrious figures have occupied its classrooms, offices, laboratories, halls and corridors. Gregori Mayans, Tomás y Valiente, Manuel Broseta, Blasco Ibáñez, Carmen Alborch ...

The importance of this Faculty in the cultural, political and social life of the Valencian Community and Spain is unquestionable, but the purpose of this compilation is not to praise the Faculty, but rather to project its current reality. Who we are, what we do and what makes us different are the questions we try to answer in the following pages, under the firm conviction that opening the doors of the Faculty to the world is a duty that as a public service we must offer not only to the university community, but to the whole Valencian society.

The Faculty of Law of the Universitat de València has just published the book that compiles most of its five centuries of history (1999-75). It is a multi-century trajectory, difficult and hazardous at times, which becomes richer and more complex with time. In fact, in this case it cannot be said that any time in the past was better. To give some data to prove it, the professors and research groups of the Faculty have managed, in the last twelve years, the award of more than a hundred R&D&I projects in competitive calls; this has meant obtaining - in a context of severe budgetary restrictions - more than six million euros in funds for research in legal, political and criminological matters. In the centre there are around twenty consolidated research groups recognised by the UVEG.

The "Jean Monnet" actions endowed, the institutional chairs (a dozen), the number of pre- and post-doctoral grants obtained, the volume of publications, the six-year terms recognised or the congresses, conferences and symposia organised (about 150 each academic year), place the Faculty of Law, within the field of research in social sciences, as the centre of reference in our University. The repercussion of this fact in areas such as teaching, dissemination of knowledge or transfer of results is very notable, and as a whole places the Faculty among the most important in the Spanish university system.