Judicial Activism in Brazil

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to provoke a debate about the possibilities and limits of judicial intervention in the other branches of the Republic. Judicial activism presupposes, broadly speaking, the failure to carry out public policies that guarantee the fundamental rights of Brazilian citizens by those responsible for it. Currently, the role of the Judiciary in granting fundamental rights constitutionally provided for has caused a reaction from the other powers. This is because, in these times where there is unprecedented ease in the access of information, it is important for political actors to keep the electorate's sympathy up to date. The initiative by the Judiciary in the performance of a function that was not primarily attributed to it by the Federal Constitution and has the capacity to attract protagonism to itself. Through research of doctrinal and jurisprudential positioning, we approach the legitimacy of this intervention from a legal perspective and the consequences of social order that arise from it. In addition, we show how judicial activism has taken on an important role in delivering justice in historic situations of inequality and segregation Finally, we conclude that judicial activism must be contemporized to fulfill the role of fundamental resource to correct omissions on the part of the Public Power capable of affecting the minimum existential to human dignity. The arbitrary or improper use of the Judiciary's ability to interfere in other powers may configure its politicization, affect its duty of exemption, culminating in the imbalance of the rule of law.