Justice, Professionalism, and Politics in the Exercise of Judicial Review by Brazil's Supreme Court

Abstract

This study analyses interactions between Law, professionalism and politics. The primary intent is to understand the judicial behaviour of Brazil’s Supreme Court in the development and consolidation of democracy, by analysing how its justices voted in decisions regarding the constitutionality of laws (judicial review) in the 1988-2003 period and investigating factors that influenced the Court’s decisions. These decisions are analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively in search of: a) voting differences corresponding to the career of each member of the Court; b) justices’ attitudes as either Constitution interpreters or reproducers of legal texts; and c) the rapporteur’s profile, as well as the profiles of the justices that voted with him/her. I conclude that although political factors do shape the decision-making process of Brazil’s Supreme Court to some extent, professionalism plays a central role in determining its judicial behaviour.