Questioning our faith in the judiciary: from institutional entrenchment to the monopoly of constitution
| Autor | Rafael Bitencourt Carvalhaes, Fernando Gama de Miranda Netto |
| Cargo | PhD candidate in Law, Institutions and Business-PPGDIN at Universidade Federal Fluminense (Niterói-RJ, Brazil)/Associate Professor of Procedural Law at the Universidade Federal Fluminense (Niterói-RJ, Brazil) since 2009 |
| Páginas | 347-370 |
Licenciado sob uma Licença Creative Commons
Licensed under Creative Commons
Questioning our faith in the Judiciary: from institutional
entrenchment to the monopoly of constitution
Questionando nossa fé no Judiciário: do entrincheiramento
institucional ao monopólio da constituição
RAFAEL BITENCOURT CARVALHAES I, *
I Universidade Federal Fluminense (Niterói-RJ, Brasil)
rafael.carvalhaes.adv@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0252-0419
FERNANDO GAMA DE MIRANDA NETTO I, **
I Universidade Federal Fluminense (Niterói-RJ, Brasil)
fernandojuris@yahoo.com.br
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5199-6050
Revista de Investigações Constitucionais
ISSN 2359-5639
DOI: 10.5380/rinc.v9i2.86725
Rev. Investig. Const., Curitiba, vol. 9, n. 2, p. 347-370, maio/ago. 2022. 347
Como citar esse artigo/How to cite this article: CARVALHAES, Rafael Bitencourt; MIRANDA NETTO, Fernando Gama de. Ques-
tioning our faith in the judiciary: from institutional entrenchment to the monopoly of constitution. Revista de Investigações
Constitucionais, Curitiba, vol. 9, n. 2, p. 347-370, maio/ago. 2022. DOI: 10.5380/rinc.v9i2.86725
* PhD candidate in Law, Institutions and Business-PPGDIN at Universidade Federal Fluminense (Niterói-RJ, Brazil). Master in Law
and Public Policies from the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro-UNIRIO. Specialist in Constitutional Civil Law from
the Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro – UERJ. Specialist in Public and Private Law from UNESA/FEMPERJ. Bachelor of
Laws from Centro Universitário da Cidade. Professor at the Faculty of Law of Rio Pomba-Instituto Federal Sudeste – MG. E-mail:
rafael.carvalhaes.adv@gmail.com
** Associate Professor of Procedural Law at the Universidade Federal Fluminense (Niterói-RJ, Brazil) since 2009, leader of the
Fluminense Laboratory of Procedural Studies (UFF), and member of the Doctoral Programs in Sociology and Law (since 2011),
and in Law, Institutions, and Business since 2017. Doctor of Law from Universidade Gama Filho (2007), with a one-year period
(March/2006-2007) of research at the Deutsche Hochschule für Verwaltungswissenschaften in Speyer (Germany) and at the
Max-Planck-Institut (Heidelberg) with a CAPES/DAAD scholarship. He completed a post-doctoral internship in Constitutional
Justice at the University of Salamanca (2011-2012). E-mail: fernandojuris@yahoo.com.br.
Abstract:
This paper intends to question the role of the Brazilian
Supreme Federal Court as an agent of democratic con-
struction and its role as guardian of the constitution.
The interest in the Supreme Court is due to the political
arrangement and the overlapping of powers and func-
tions of the court than the other powers. A Constitution-
al Court with inated powers can lead to democratic
dysfunction and judicial hegemony about institutions.
Notably, an expansion of the Brazilian Supreme Federal
Resumo:
Este trabalho pretende questionar o papel do STF como
agente de construção democrática e de guardião da consti-
tuição. O interesse pelo STF se deve pelo atual arranjo polí-
tico e a sobreposição de poderes e funções da corte perante
os demais poderes. Uma Corte Constitucional com poderes
inacionados pode acarretar numa disfunção democrática
e na hegemonia judicial em relação às instituições. Nota-
damente, a expansão dos poderes do STF se deve a forma
como ele interpreta a Constituição e a sua inuência no
RAFAEL BITENCOURT CARVALHAES | FERNANDO GAMA DE MIRANDA NETTO
Rev. Investig. Const., Curitiba, vol. 9, n. 2, p. 347-370, maio/ago. 2022.
348
CONTENTS
1. Introduction; 2. The STF’s empowerment and the (de)construction of democratic institutions: ques-
tioning our faith in the judiciary; 3. Institutional entrenchment and monopoly of constitution; 4. The
constitutional change of art. 102, caput, of the Constitution: deference, supremacy and judicial sove-
reignty; 5. Conclusion; 6. References.
1. INTRODUCTION
This paper aims to analyze the role of the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court (STF)
in the construction of a new democratic model inaugurated by the 1988 Constitution.
As main questions that are intended to answer: what is the role of the STF in the current
Brazilian democratic model? Can the STF be considered an agent of democratization?
How did your powers expand over these 33 years of the Constitution? What are the
institutional eects of codication on other powers?
These issues are important for understanding the current political and legal sce-
nario of the Supreme Court, mainly to identify the process of constitutional change
in art. 102, which does not allow the expansion of the possible meanings of the term
“guardian of the Constitution”, highlighting three dierent features: deference, supre-
macy, and judicial sovereignty.
The methodology used in the present work is exploratory, as it aims to raise qua-
litative data of the judicial role through national and foreign bibliographies, an end of
evaluation, or problem of judicial activism in the construction of Brazilian democracy. It
is intended, therefore, to correlate the phenomenon of judicial expansion with a cons-
titutional change in art. 102, caput, of the Constitution, demonstrating that the original
role of being executed by the STF was gradually changed over 31 years.
In the rst chapter, the excess of faith deposited in the judiciary for the construc-
tion of new democracies will be discussed, demonstrating the excess of competences
and the powers associated with an imbalance between institutions. The second chapter
Court’s powers should create a way for it to interpret the
Constitution and its inuence on the political process.
There is no doubt that the Brazilian Supreme Federal
Court has become an important political actor, making
it present in almost all legal and political areas. However,
constitutional monopoly, judicial activism, and excessive
interference in the political process degenerate the origi-
nal democratic model, deconstructing the excess of faith
deposited in the judiciary.
Keywords: Brazilian Supreme Federal Court; judicial ac-
tivism; guardian of the Constitution; democracy; consti-
tutional monopoly
processo político. Não há dúvidas que o STF se tornou um
importante ator político, fazendo-se presente em quase to-
das as áreas jurídicas e políticas. No entanto, o monopólio
constitucional, o ativismo judicial e a excessiva interferên-
cia no processo político degeneram o modelo democráti-
co original, desconstruindo o excesso de fé depositada no
judiciário.
Palavras-Chave: Supremo Tribunal Federal; ativismo ju-
dicial; guardião da Constituição; democracia; monopólio
constitucional.
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