It is a common understanding that the statute of limitations for crimes functions as a multidimensional legal concept, inherently resistant to the usual boundaries of extinguishing criminal liability and simultaneously representing an insurmountable prosecutorial obstacle. Beyond its purpose-driven regulatory framework, the statute of limitations develops bidirectional connections with numerous provisions of substantive and procedural criminal law, and is often implicitly reflected in the thoughts of lawmakers, interpreters, and enforcers. Taking into account the distinctive emblematic features of the statute of limitations, this endeavor aims to highlight and illuminate certain aspects of it through selected legal issues. The work is structured into two parts, the first of which, after initial conceptual approaches, presents reflections on the justice-politics considerations and the legal nature of the institution, while the second attempts to outline its functioning. In this context, for substantive criminal law, the approach involves examining key aspects of the statute of limitations through appropriate illustrative examples; thus, issues of temporal law are analyzed within the regulatory framework of public property protection, the defining parameters of the statutes of limitations, namely initiation and duration, are addressed through the lens of participatory criminal liability. On the other hand, in procedural law, it was deemed appropriate to consider how the statute of limitations is addressed at critical procedural phases, such as the issuance of the main investigation order, the trial in absentia, and the appeal proceedings. Within this framework, the present work seeks to identify relevant areas of concern and propose practical solutions, aiming to enrich the relevant scholarly dialogue. The text is fully updated up to Law 4871/2021 and enriched with extensive references and numerous judicial decisions.