Bras. Political Sci. Rev.2008;2(2):138-45.
Judicial Contestation: A less Decisive and more Resolute Political System
DOI: 10.1590/1981-3849200800020006
In a context where the amount of cases being processed in the justice system reaches the extraordinary figure of 67.7 million – which is equivalent to one case for every two people over the age of 20 – and where higher court decisions, such as those by Superior Electoral Court (TSE) and the Supreme Federal Court (STF) have directly affected the relationships among the branches of power and redesigned Brazilian polity, the publication of Matthew Taylor’s Judging policy could not be more opportune. More than that, the well-deserved recognition by the Brazilian Association of Political Science, which awarded him with the “Victor Nunes Leal” prize for best Political Science book (2007-2008), does justice not only to the quality of the work but also reflects the importance achieved by the area of political studies of the Judiciary in the Brazilian political science community.
As the book well highlights, the past 20 years in Brazil’s democracy cannot be analyzed without reserving a special place for the role played by Justice institutions. During this time, judges and members of the Public Ministry (MP) have played a decisive role in fulfilling the principles of the 1988 Constitution, in arbitrating the relationships among the branches of power and among the federative entities, in the definition of and adjustments to the main public policies implemented by the various administrations, thus affecting, it could be said, the dynamics of the democratic regime as a whole. The triple transition in the 1980s and 1990s – political regime, State and economic model – was marked by the clash between adverse trends and often by collisions between government policies and constitutional principles. In the various conflicts involving administrations, political parties and civilian society organized forces, the Judiciary was called upon to intervene. From the notorious plans against inflation in the 1980s to the most recent Growth Acceleration Program (PAC), governmental economic measures have had to undergo thorough judicial reviewing. In a recent recap of PAC works, minister Dilma Roussef, the mind behind the plan, praised the work by the Advocacy General of the Union in reducing what she called the ‘risk of judicialization’, which has affected mainly land expropriation and environmental impact processes relating to the program.
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