another system is possible

212 Pages·2012·1.06 MB·English

anotheR
system
is
possiBle
RefoRming BRazilian justice
Edited by Conor Foley
with a preface by
José Eduardo Martins Cardozo
Minister of Justice

Another system is possible
reforming brAziliAn justice
Edited by Conor Foley
with a preface by
José Eduardo Cardozo
Minister of Justice
International Bar Association
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ISBN 978-0-948711-22-0
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© International Bar Association 2012
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The views expressed in this publication are those of the contributors,
and not necessarily those of the International Bar Association.
Printed by Ministério da Justiça Secretaria de Reforma do Judiciário
(Ministry of Justice Secretariat of Judicial Reform), Brasília.
Production
International Bar Association
United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Project coordinator
Alex Wilks (Senior Programme Lawyer, International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute)
editor
Conor Foley
MiniStrY oF juStice
José Eduardo Cardozo (Minister of Justice)
Flávio Crocce Caetano (Secretary of Judicial Reform)
Kelly Oliveira de Araújo (Director of Department of Judicial Policy)
Wagner Augusto da Silva Costa (Chief of Staff)
Eduardo Machado Dias (Coordinator-General of Judicial Service Administration)
Washington Leonardo Guanaes Bonini (Coordinator-General of Modernization of the
Administration of Justice)
international Bar aSSociation editing and Production teaM
Emily Silvester (Content Editor)
Kath Farrell (Editor)
Leonie Girard (Creative Artworker)
Dr John Jeffries (Indexer)
Hannah Caddick (Editorial Assistant/Junior Sub-Editor)
ACknowlEdgEMEnts
The IBAHRI would like to thank the following individuals who provided invaluable assistance, time
and effort in the production of this book: Gabriele Barros de Luca, Wagner Augusto da Silva Costa,
Stefanie Ferraz, Pedro Freitas, Cyro Pereira Isolan, Eduardo Machado Dias, Marcela Magalhães,
Michelle Morais Graciela e Silva, Margarida Hourmat, João Pedro Lacerda de Sá Teles, Raquel Pérez
Lozano, Cida Taboza, Thiago Farias Lima Silva, Luciana Pinto da Silva and Danielle Renée Machado
de Oliveira.
The IBAHRI would also like to thank the following institutions for their collaboration in the
project: the National Justice Council (Conselho Nacional de Justiça), the Federal Council of the
Brazilian Bar Association (Conselho Federal da Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil), the São Paulo
Public Defender’s Office (Defensoria Pública do Estado de São Paulo), and the Ministry of Justice
Secretariat of Judicial Reform (Secretaria de Reforma do Judiciário do Ministério da Justiça) and
the National Secretariat of Human Rights (Secretaria de Direitos Humanos da Presidência da
República).
This project was financed by the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office. We are
especially grateful to Ivone Dezaneti, Philip Everest and Marcia Sumire of the British Embassy in
Brasília for their support and dedication. Finally, the IBAHRI is grateful to the Ministry of Justice
Secretariat for Judicial Reform (Secretaria de Reforma do Judiciário do Ministério da Justiça) for
printing copies of this book in both English and Portuguese.
acKnoWledgeMentS iii

ContEnts
PrEFACE vii
José Eduardo Cardozo Minister of Justice
PrEsEntAtIon ix
Flávio Crocce Caetano Secretary of Judicial Reform
ForEword xii
Justice Richard Goldstone
BIogrAPhIEs oF ContrIButors xiii
IntroduCtIon 1
Reforming Brazilian Justice: a new Model for International Cooperation and Development
ChAPtEr onE 13
The Mutirão Carcerário – Conor Foley
ChAPtEr two 31
Legal Aid and Pre-trial Prisoners: an Experiment in the City of Rio de Janeiro
– Julita Lemgruber and Marcia Fernandes
ChAPtEr thrEE 55
The Advocacy Project – Helena Romanach, José de Jesus Filho and Juana Kweitel
ChAPtEr Four 69
The Silent Revolution: Innovare and Justice Reform – Conor Foley
ChAPtEr FIvE 81
Community Justice: Building Peace – Gláucia Falsarella Foley
ChAPtEr sIx 101
The Brazilian Model of Legal Aid: Characteristics of the Public Defender’s Office since
the Constitution of 1988 – Carlos Weis
ChAPtEr sEvEn 117
The International Committee of the Red Cross in Brazil and its Work in Rio de Janeiro’s
Civil Police Lock-ups – Felipe Donoso
ChAPtEr EIght 129
The International Bar Association in Brazil: Forging Partnerships – Alex Wilks
ChAPtEr nInE 145
Fighting for Peace in Rio’s Favelas and Beyond – Luke Dowdney
ChAPtEr tEn 161
Criminal Justice and Penal Policy: a Positive Agenda for Reform – Pierpaolo Cruz Bottini
glossAry And trAnslAtIons 175
IndEx 181

PrEFACE
While there are many legitimate criticisms to be made of the Brazilian justice system, there is also
much that we can be proud of, particularly when compared with other countries at similar levels of
economic, social and political development. Indeed, such is the current mood of optimism, many
have concluded that Brazil may finally be arriving at the bright future which was always ahead of
us. But we should never forget the scale of the challenges that confronted us along the way and
those that we still face.
Brazil has bucked a global trend, reducing social inequality while, in virtually every other major
country in the world over the last decade, it has been rising. Successful government initiatives have
also had an astonishing impact in lowering rates of absolute poverty and violent crime. However,
there is no reason for complacency in the wake of such successes given how high all three have
been historically, and the blight that they have inflicted on our society and so many people’s lives.
The transition from dictatorship to democracy, which occurred within the collective memory of
most Brazilians, posed profound and multi-faceted challenges to our system of governance and
justice. We have experienced what we see many other countries going through today – particularly
in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. One lesson learnt from the transition is that judicial
reform is a concern for everyone and not just the judiciary or executive. The continuing social and
economic development of Brazil would not have been possible without strengthening the ability of
the judiciary to function in accord with the needs of its citizenry.
This book tells the story of the ‘silent revolution’ within the Brazilian justice system. It brings
together a range of actors, both national and international, and draws upon a rich variety of
experiences. It does not seek to minimise the many problems that still confront us – particularly the
conditions in many of our prisons, the slowness and inaccessibility of judicial processes, and the
continuing weakness of our system of public defence – but, in highlighting what we have achieved
and what still needs to be done, it tries to do two things.
First of all, the book demonstrates that many of our most successful national programmes started
out locally, either in a community or through voluntary efforts, before being scaled-up to national
level. Brazilians are proud of their creative ingenuity and the number of ‘community justice’
initiatives that have developed in recent years is truly impressive. By providing a brief snap-shot of
some of them the book intends to inspire more.
Secondly, we believe that some of the experiences described in this book may have an international
relevance. Our government does not try to conceal the scale of its challenge in living up to
the commitments contained within the international human rights conventions that Brazil has
ratified. These are, and should be universal in their scope, but each country strives to implement
them within its own social, economic, political and historical specificity. Our experiences of justice
sector reform may be of direct relevance to other countries facing similar challenges.
We offer our experiences as a contribution to debate, hoping to learn from others in turn. Too often
international organisations promote justice sector reform projects which have been developed in
PreFace vii
the global north and pre-packaged for export, as if they were the only models on offer. A dialogue
within the global south is urgently needed, based on mutual respect and reciprocity, from which
new paradigms can arise.
josé eduardo cardozo
Ministro de Estado da Justiça
viii PreFace