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- Title
PUBLIC INTEREST LAW: A BRAZILIAN PERSPECTIVE.
- Authors
Vieira, Oscar Vilhena
- Abstract
This article is focused on explaining how the Brazilian legal community has structured its own public interest law landscape in the field of human rights law over the last decade. This article argues that the current Brazilian public interest law initiatives and institutions are largely a consequence of three major forces: 1) the existence of liberal and progressive segments of the legal community since the abolitionism movement of the mid 19th century; 2) the adoption of the 1988 Constitution, with its generous bill of rights, and the ascension of the Ministério Púlico and the Defensoria Pública as public institutions responsible for representing "the public interest" and the interests of the most vulnerable people before the Brazilian judicial system; and 3) the globalization process, viewed from the perspectives of the internationalization of the human rights discourse and the expansion of international standards of private legal practice to cope with new market demands, which includes the consideration of some pro bono practice. The conclusion argues that even a fragile legal system can provide mechanisms that, when appropriately used, will enhance the protection of rights and the equal recognition of legal subjects.
- Subjects
BRAZIL; PUBLIC interest law; LAW; HUMAN rights; CONSTITUTIONS; GLOBALIZATION; JUSTICE administration
- Publication
UCLA Journal of International Law & Foreign Affairs, 2008, Vol 13, Issue 1, p219
- ISSN
1089-2605
- Publication type
Article