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The Brazilian Constitution: Context, Structure and Current Challenges

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
AuthorVanice Regina Lirio do Valle
PositionVisiting Fellow at the Human Rights Program?Harvard Law School, Doctorate at Gama Filho University
Pages423-440




The Brazilian Constitution was enacted over 31 years ago, and it pioneered several
constitutional changes in Latin America, in line with a transformational project which
was to be achieved through the protection of human rights including socioeconomic
rights. Three decades of this constitutional experience have highlighted aspects
in which the original design has proven to be too ambitious, and not capable of
overcoming political blockages as was originally intended. This Article describes
the historical context in which the Brazilian Constitution was drafted and enacted,
and discusses in general terms the political structure and the fundamental rights that
the constitution provides. These baselines allow the reader to understand the current
challenges that the Constitution now faces in the task of regulating a social ambience

which are synthesized in that same political document. Especial attention is given
to judicial control over public policies—a relevant trend in the Brazilian judiciary,
which raises much debate concerning its compatibility with the checks and balances
principle. As a conclusion, the Article recognizes that the Brazilian Constitution is an
institutional success, considering its ability to enable redemocratization, and even to
overcome deep political crisis. This should not, however, be enough reason to take its
  
in other countries.

Brazilian Constitution, Human Rights and the Separation of Powers, Judicialised
Constitutionalism, Transformative Commitments and Legislative Inertia, Judicial
Review and Public Policy


© 2020 Vanice Regina Lirio do Valle, published by Sciendo.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License.
          
 

 
 
A. The Brazilian Federalist Model ...................................................
 
9 Br. J. Am. Leg. Studies (2020)




A. Textual Analysis versus Living Constitution .................................
B. Transformative Commitments versus Legislative Inertia .............


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