O problema da autonomia do Supremo Tribunal Federal: tribunal desconhecido ou monarca absoluto?

Abstract

This thesis aimed to investigate the acts of the Supreme Court as an institution which plays an essential role in the Brazilian democratic life. The intensity with which this institution performs its important mission has not remained the same over the years. The current role and autonomy do not correspond to the secondary role played by the Supreme Court in the period of time before the Constitution of 1988. With a design composed by the constituent of 1987 after the end of military rule, the 1988 Constitution, as well as significant changes in the organization of the Brazilian society, allowed the expansion of democratic life in the country. Theorists who study such change confirm a movement towards a judicialization of politics in Brazil promoted by these conditions and by the Supreme Court, which impose a necessary inclusion in the political game between the representative branches of government. In order to understand this movement, a comparative study between the models of constitutional courts and between theoretical debates about the role of the courts was performed. The judicialization of politics and judicial activism served as interpretative basis for decisions of the Supreme and its consequent autonomy.