In recent years, every single theme relevant to Brazilian society has been debated and decided at the plenary of the Brazilian Supreme Court (STF). From the decriminalization of the abortion of anencephalic fetuses, through the imposition of racial quotas for admission in universities, the regularization of same-sex unions, and Criminal Procedure 470, which judged the Mensalão (Monthly Allowance) scheme, the Supreme Court has become a key player in national political life, even engaging in what has been called ‘Supremocracy.’

The person who coined the expression is Oscar Vilhena Vieira, dean of FGV’s Sao Paulo Law School (Direito SP). The Constitutional Law professor has just launched the second edition of the book ‘Direitos Fundamentais – Uma leitura da jurisprudência do STF’ [Fundamental Rights – A view of STF jurisprudence] (Ed. Malheiros), in collaboration with Marina Feferbaum and Flavia Scabin, featuring a combination of theoretical and practical analyses of major cases tried by the STF. According to the professor, the cases were selected based on two criteria: relevance of the theme and quality of the debate in the STF.

“We did not try to we exhaust all the relevant fundamental rights issues, but rather we sought to identify the more complex issues that, if understood by the reader, will enable them to face various problems in the field of law,” says the professor in the introduction.

For Vilhena, studying the major cases tried by the STF means taking a closer look at one of the main pillars of Democracy and Rule of Law, which are Fundamental Rights.

“The relationship between the pretentious normative program undertook by the Brazilian Constitution and the harsh reality that it intends to change has been marked by a colossal ambiguity, between forces that defend the permanence of hierarchical structures and representatives of civil society, who saw the STF as a space to debate and demand measures that enable the expansion of the grant of rights,” says the professor.

Still regarding Human Rights, Vilhena was one of the coordinators of the book ‘Direitos Humanos e Vida Cotidiana’ [Human Rights and Daily Life] – the first foray of FGV Press into the field of textbooks. The work was written and published in partnership with Direito SP and addresses, in a direct language and based on concrete cases, the core concepts of this field, which encompasses so many others.

Initially intended for High School teachers and students, but also accessible to the general public, the book adopts an educational approach based on human rights, supported by the National Education Guidelines of the Brazilian Ministry of Education in this field, and aims to help establish a culture over such rights, based on the values of ethics, tolerance, solidarity, acceptance of diversity, and the rejection of prejudice, violence, discrimination, inequality and abuse.

Go to the website for more information on the book, available in Portuguese.