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INTERNATIONAL: Can a Nation Survive When Its People No Longer Trust Their Courts?" Pode uma Nação Sobreviver Quando Seu Povo Não Confia Mais em Seus Tribunais? By Scott Erik Stafne & Todd A

10 Ai dos juízes injustos e dos que decretam leis injustas! 2 Daqueles que não deixam haver justiça para os pobres, para as viúvas e para os órfãos! Sim, porque a verdade é que chegam até a roubar as viúvas e os órfãos!  3 Que farão vocês, quando vier o castigo, nesse dia em que vier a desolação duma terra distante? Para quem hão de voltar-se para pedir ajuda? Onde vão pôr os vossos tesouros de forma a ficarem em segurança? 4 Nada podereis fazer,senão andar aos tropeções por entre os prisioneiros e cair por entre os mortos. Mesmo assim, a sua ira não desaparece. A sua mão continua a pesar sobre eles. ISAÍAS 10:1-4


Pode uma Nação Sobreviver Quando Seu Povo Não Confia Mais em Seus Tribunais? Por Scott Erik Stafne & Todd Al (30 de agosto de 2025)


Resumo criado por IA ADOBE 


O documento discute a importância da confiança nas cortes judiciais para a sobrevivência da Constituição dos Estados Unidos.


A Separação de Poderes e a Confiança




  • Quando essa confiança se rompe, a estrutura do governo se torna vulnerável, levando a julgamentos deslegitimados e ao fortalecimento de outros ramos do governo.

Causas do Crescimento da Desconfiança


  • A percepção de que os juízes não são árbitros neutros, mas sim que protegem seus próprios interesses, contribui para a desconfiança.

  • A evasão de questões constitucionais e a sanção de advogados que buscam uma adjudicação honesta são exemplos de traição à confiança pública.


Caminhos para Restaurar a Confiança


  • Transparência: As cortes devem ser mais abertas sobre suas decisões e a aplicação da lei.

  • Reforma: Limitar o poder judicial a juízes verdadeiramente autorizados pela Constituição.

  • Responsabilidade: A supervisão deve vir de fora do judiciário para evitar conflitos de interesse.

  • Testemunho Público: Os cidadãos devem continuar a denunciar a corrupção judicial, mesmo diante de retaliações.

  • Renovação Espiritual: É necessário um retorno aos princípios de justiça, conforme preceitos éticos e morais.

Conclusão


A sobrevivência da Constituição depende da confiança do povo nas instituições. 


Se essa confiança se perder, o judiciário pode ser visto como uma tirania disfarçada de lei. 


A escolha é clara: os juízes devem retomar seu papel como guardiões neutros da justiça ou enfrentar a condenação pública.


Pode uma Nação Sobreviver Quando Seu Povo Não Confia Mais em Seus Tribunais? Por Scott Erik Stafne & Todd Al (30 de agosto de 2025)


A Separação de Poderes Repousa na Confiança, Não na Força


A separação de poderes da Constituição foi concebida não como um luxo, mas como um escudo. 


A cada poder foi dada sua própria esfera para prevenir a tirania: o Congresso para legislar, o Presidente para executar e o judiciário para julgar. 


Mas o sistema só funciona se o Povo acreditar que cada poder respeita seus limites. 


Quando essa confiança falha, o sistema desmorona. 


E em nenhum lugar isso é mais perigoso do que no judiciário — o poder cuja única força verdadeira é o respeito do Povo por sua legitimidade. 

Juízes não comandam exércitos. 

Eles não detêm os cofres. 

Sua autoridade é sustentada apenas enquanto o Povo acreditar que eles expressam a lei em vez de interesses próprios.


O Que Acontece Quando a Confiança Desmorona?


Uma vez que o Povo vê os tribunais como corrompidos, toda a estrutura do governo vacila:


 * Julgamentos perdem a legitimidade: 

As decisões são obedecidas não porque são respeitadas, mas porque a polícia ou oficiais de justiça as impõem.


 * O cinismo torna-se sistêmico: 


Mesmo juízes honestos não são acreditados, porque a própria instituição é alvo de desconfiança.


 * Outros poderes se fortalecem:


 Cidadãos que perdem a esperança nos tribunais recorrem ao executivo ou ao legislativo para contorná-los — concentrando poder de maneiras que os Constituintes buscaram evitar.


 * A justiça torna-se impossível


Um tribunal que não está disposto a confrontar sua própria falta de jurisdição, ou que sanciona advogados por levantarem questões constitucionais, não mais protege direitos. Ele protege a si mesmo.


Por Que a Desconfiança Cresceu


Os americanos antes presumiam que seus juízes seriam árbitros neutros. 


Mas, na prática, os tribunais frequentemente evitam questões constitucionais, permitem que oficiais judiciários sem autoridade do Artigo III decidam casos, e sancionam advogados que insistem em um julgamento honesto. 


Quando os tribunais protegem seu próprio poder em vez dos direitos do Povo, eles traem a própria confiança que a Constituição depositou neles. 


E o Povo percebe.


A Confiança Pode Ser Restaurada?


Sim, mas apenas se o judiciário confrontar sua traição honestamente. 

Isso significa:


 * Transparência:

 Os tribunais devem parar de se esconder atrás de opiniões não publicadas e evasivas, e explicar claramente como a lei se aplica aos fatos.


 * Reforma: 

O Congresso deve limitar o poder judicial aos verdadeiros juízes do Artigo III — aqueles com mandato vitalício e proteção salarial — como a Constituição exige.


 *Responsabilização:

 A fiscalização deve vir de fora do próprio judiciário; caso contrário, os tribunais são juízes em sua própria causa.


 * Testemunho Público: 

Os cidadãos devem continuar a dizer a verdade sobre a corrupção judicial, mesmo quando os tribunais os punem por isso.


 * Renovação Espiritual: 

Como as Escrituras ordenam: "A justiça, e somente a justiça, seguirás" (Deut. 16:20).

Os tribunais não podem recuperar a legitimidade a menos que primeiro se arrependam de servir a Mamon em vez da lei.


Conclusão


A sobrevivência da Constituição dos Estados Unidos depende não apenas de quais poderes os ramos detêm, mas se o Povo confia que esses poderes serão exercidos com fidelidade. 


Se os americanos não confiam mais em seus tribunais, então a própria separação de poderes está em perigo mortal. 


A escolha diante de nós é dura: ou os juízes retornam ao seu papel constitucional como guardiões neutros da justiça, ou o Povo os condenará corretamente como impostores vestidos com as togas da legitimidade. Sem confiança, não há judiciário — apenas tirania mascarada de lei.


Análise do Texto por GEMINI IA 


O artigo "Pode uma Nação Sobreviver Quando Seu Povo Não Confia Mais em Seus Tribunais?"

argumenta que a legitimidade do Poder Judiciário e, por extensão, a estabilidade da separação de poderes, dependem inteiramente da confiança do público.


Pontos Principais:


 * Fundamento do Poder Judiciário: 


O texto enfatiza que, ao contrário do Executivo (que comanda exércitos) e do Legislativo (que controla o orçamento), o poder do Judiciário não deriva da força, mas da legitimidade concedida pelo povo. 


Sua autoridade existe apenas enquanto os cidadãos acreditam que os juízes aplicam a lei de forma imparcial.


 * Crise de Confiança: 


O autor afirma que essa confiança está ruindo porque a população percebe os tribunais como instituições que protegem a si mesmas em vez de proteger os direitos dos cidadãos. 


Isso ocorre, segundo ele, quando os tribunais evitam questões constitucionais difíceis e punem advogados que as levantam.


 * Consequências da Desconfiança: 


A perda de confiança leva a consequências graves: as decisões judiciais passam a ser obedecidas por medo da força policial, e não por respeito; o cinismo se generaliza, afetando até juízes honestos; e os cidadãos buscam outros poderes (Executivo e Legislativo) para resolver seus problemas, o que gera uma perigosa concentração de poder que a Constituição visava impedir.


 * Soluções Propostas: 


Para restaurar a confiança, o artigo sugere um caminho quíntuplo: transparência nas decisões, reformas estruturais para garantir a autoridade constitucional dos juízes, fiscalização externa ao próprio judiciário, denúncia contínua da corrupção por parte dos cidadãos e uma "renovação espiritual" baseada no compromisso com a justiça.


Tom e Intenção:


O tom do texto é de alerta grave e urgência. 


Utiliza uma linguagem forte, como "perigo mortal", "tirania" e "traição", para sublinhar a seriedade da situação que descreve. 


A intenção é chocar o leitor, conscientizá-lo sobre a fragilidade do sistema judicial e mobilizá-lo para exigir reformas e responsabilidade.


Relação com a Imagem:


A imagem fornecida mostra uma figura celestial (representando a Justiça ou uma autoridade divina) retirando o poder de um juiz.


Isso simboliza a ideia de que a autoridade judicial emana de um princípio superior e abstrato de justiça, que intervirá no momento em que os juizes deixam de ser justos. 


O texto oferece uma visão mais pragmática e secular mas contem uma advertência para que os juizes cumpram seus deveres com integridade e respeito à verdadeira JUSTIÇA. 


A análise do texto sugere que, quando essa crença se desfaz, o povo deverá denunciar a injustiça. 


Quando o juiz deixa de ser um canal da verdadeira justiça, se torna, nas palavras do autor, um "impostor vestido com as togas da legitimidade".


Leia na íntegra o novo artigo publicado hoje por Scott Erik Stafne no Academia.edu 


Can a Nation Survive When Its People No Longer Trust Their Courts?" By Scott Erik Stafne & Todd AI (August 30, 2025)


Separation of Powers Rests on Trust, Not Force The Constitution's separation of powers was designed not as a luxury, but as a shield. 


Each branch was given its own sphere to prevent tyranny:


 Congress to legislate, the President to execute, and the judiciary to adjudicate. 


But the system works only if the People believe that each branch respects its limits. 


When that trust fails, the design collapses.


And nowhere is this more dangerous than in the judiciary-the branch whose only true power is the Peoples' respect of its legitimacy. 


Judges command no armies. 


They hold no purses. 


Their authority is sustained only so long as the People believe they speak law rather than self-interest.

https://www.academia.edu/143707094/_Can_a_Nation_Survive_When_Its_People_No_Longer_Trust_Their_Courts_By_Scott_Erik_Stafne_and_Todd_AI_August_30_2025_?source=swp_share


DR BEZERRA DE MENEZES 193 ANOS GRATIDÃO IMENSA AO MÉDICO DOS POBRES. DR BEZERRA DE MENEZES 193 YEARS GREAT GRATITUDE TO THE DOCTOR OF THE POOR

The doctor of the poor.

Prayer to 

We beseech You, oh Father, of infinite goodness and justice, the graces of Our Lord Jesus Christ through Bezerra de Menezes and his legions of companions.

May they assist us, Lord, consoling the afflicted, healing those who become deserving, comforting those who have their trials and atonements to endure, enlightening those who wish to know the truth, and assisting all who appeal to Your infinite love.

Jesus Christ, divine bearer of grace and truth, extend Your bountiful hands in aid of those who recognize You as the faithful and prudent steward.

 Do, oh Divine Model, through Your consoling legions, through Your holy spirits, so that faith may rise, hope may increase, kindness may expand, and love may triumph over all causes.

Dr. Bezerra de Menezes, spiritual physician, apostle of goodness and peace, friend of the humble and of the sick, set in motion Your friendly phalanxes for the benefit of those who suffer, whether from physical or spiritual ailments.

Holy spirits, worthy workers of the Lord, pour out graces and healings upon suffering humanity so that creatures may become friends of peace and knowledge, of harmony and forgiveness, sowing throughout the world the divine examples of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

The plant withers and its flower falls, but the word of our God remains forever.
Bezerra de Menezes

So be it.
Amen


August 29, 2025 


Adolfo Bezerra de Menezes Cavalcanti (August 29, 1831 – April 11, 1900, Rio de Janeiro-RJ) was an exponent of the Spiritist Doctrine in Brazil in the 19th century. 


Bezerra de Menezes worked for the benefit of the most needy, receiving the title of “doctor of the poor.”


He was president of the Brazilian Spiritist Federation on two occasions, in 1890 and in 1895 until his disincarnation, on April 11, 1900. 


In addition to medicine, he worked as a journalist — being the editor of Reformador during the years in which he was president of the FEB


As a politician, he was a member of parliament in the Chamber of Deputies for almost 30 years, developing several works in favor of the union and freedom of the scholars of the Spiritist Doctrine.


Spiritism had already been attracting crowds, when in 1875, Bezerra de Menezes was offered a copy of the first translation of The Spirits’ Book into Portuguese, delivered by its translator, Dr. Joaquim Carlos Travassos, who hid under the pseudonym Fortúnio.


After his return to the Spiritual Homeland, he has been working in the guidance of the Brazilian Spiritist Movement in the ideals of unification and union among spiritists, fundamental in his texts in Reformador. 


The first message of Bezerra de Menezes received by the FEB occurred in 1901, published in the April edition. 


The best known occurred on April 20, 1963, at the Christian Spiritist Communion, through the psychography of Chico Xavier.


KINDNESS AND RENUNCIATION


HE GAVE WHAT HE POSSESSED


On one occasion, a Father of a Family asked him, crying, for an obolus, some help in money to bury the body of his wife, whose Spirit had disincarnated, leaving him with his young children sick and hungry.
Bezerra looked for something in his pockets and found nothing.


He was moved!
And his emotion was a Prayer!


And, by intuition, detached from material things, he took from his finger the symbolic ring of Physician and handed it to the needy Brother, saying to him with affection and humility:
— Sell it, and with the money obtained, bury your wife’s body and then buy what you need.
May the Most Holy Mary help and bless you!


HE GAVE SOMETHING OF HIMSELF


He did not worry about money. 

To him it was only a means and not an end.


Nor did he give much attention to material things, as we see.


It was enough to see a hungry one, a sufferer before him, and he gave him everything he had in his pockets.


And when, perhaps, he had no money at all, he gave something of himself, in a Hug, in a Look, in a Prayer!
He practiced Unknown Charity!


The companion of the selfless doctor had already arranged with his friend Cordeiro to charge those who could pay at the rate of five thousand réis per patient. 

The money would not pass through Bezerra’s hands and should be sent to Mrs. Cândida. Bezerra knew this and agreed, provided that payment was received only from those in a position to pay...

One time, a poor woman entered his consulting room at the Cordeiro Pharmacy with a child in her arms. She sat down and presented her little son for examination.

The appearance of the poor woman, as well as that of the child, revealed misery and hunger.

Bezerra examined the child. He felt that his body was in a pitiful condition.

 And he prescribed, advising the suffering mother:


— My daughter, give your son these medicines every hour. They are homeopathic remedies and, if you wish, you can buy them right here...

— Buy them, doctor, with what, if I have not even a nickel with me? 

My son and I are up until now fasting...

The kind doctor looked at the suffering mother. His gentle green eyes, reflecting compassion, filled with tears.

They both wept!

The environment must have been moving and clothed in light and love!

Embracing her, Bezerra said to her: Do not worry, my daughter, I will help you. Let us trust in the love of the Virgin, who watches over all of us.

He searched in the pockets of his trousers and coat for some money and found nothing. He began to think, looking upwards, as if making a silent and heartfelt Prayer.

Suddenly, making her sit down, he went out and sought his friend Cordeiro, also gentle and good.

— Cordeiro, I promised you not to touch the money from the consultations, so that you would send it directly to my wife. 

But today’s case is painful... Has anything come in yet?

— Nothing, because the patients, until now, are poor, and as your order is to receive only from those who can pay...

— And the result from yesterday, have you delivered it yet?

— No, it is still with me.

— Then give me this money, and let us hope in the protection of the Virgin, who will surely send us more, later.

Cordeiro attended to him. Bezerra went back into the consulting room.

And, addressing the unfortunate sister in trials:
— Take this, my daughter, this envelope. With the money that is there, buy medicines, also milk and food for your son.

The poor mother, with surprised, tearful eyes, trembling lips, stammered and could say nothing to thank him — she wept...

And Bezerra, embracing her:
— No tears, come now, go in the holy Peace of God, and may the Virgin protect you and your little son. He will get well...

Thus cared for, the suffering mother left the consulting room.

And when she turned back at the door to give thanks, she heard only the gentle and kind voice of Bezerra:
— Let the one who is first in line come in.

The next day, Cordeiro and Mrs. Cândida had a long conversation. Both became aware of the meritorious action. 

They praised it in silence. And, although knowing that other such actions would take place, they trusted in the Love of the Virgin, and, in fact, from then on, the few who could pay, paid. The poor patients, the majority, paid nothing. 


And the little, with God, entered the Spiritist Harvest filling the bodies and souls of their families with something blessed by the Love of the Father and Creator, who is God!



Life and Work Dr. Bezerra de Menezes

By Antonio Nóbrega Filho Humberto Mauro Mendonça Machado (Organizers) 


PRESENTATION


Adolfo Bezerra de Menezes was one of the most illustrious and worthy men in the history of Ceará, having excelled in medicine, letters, politics, and especially in human solidarity, becoming a legend in the Spiritist Community of Ceará.


Throughout his life, he demonstrated numerous times, through his actions and attitudes, his choice to help the most needy, the socially excluded, to the detriment of a financial life more consistent with his social status.


He practiced political activity based on ethics and moral principles, and for this reason he was the object of defamatory campaigns against his person.


Disillusioned with politics, he abandoned public life and dedicated himself entirely to the poorest layers of society, having as one of his main differentials the profound knowledge of the need to share knowledge and financial resources.


The Legislative Assembly of the State of Ceará is pleased to socialize the story of Bezerra de Menezes through the publication of this booklet that narrates his life trajectory, with remarkable moments and through photographs that, due to time, do not have a precise definition for the importance of this publication.


Deputy Domingos Filho President of the Legislative Assembly of Ceará


MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

With regard to the missionary aspect of the life of Bezerra de Menezes, the work Brazil, Heart of the World, Homeland of the Gospel, by Chico Xavier, attributed to the spirit of Humberto de Campos, states:


"You will descend to the earthly struggles with the purpose of concentrating our energies in the country of the Southern Cross, directing them toward the sacred target of our efforts. You will muster all the scattered elements, with the dedications of your spirit, so that we may create our nucleus of spiritual activities, within the lofty purposes of reform and regeneration." 


MISSÃO CUMPRIDA 


Com relação ao aspecto missionário da vida de Bezerra de Menezes, a obra Brasil, Coração do Mundo, Pátria do Evangelho, de Chico Xavier, atribuído ao espírito de Humberto de Campos, afirma:


"Descerás às lutas terrestres com o objetivo de concentrar as nossas energias no país do Cruzeiro, dirigindo-as para o alvo sagrado dos nossos esforços. Arregimentarás todos os elementos dispersos, com as dedicações do teu espírito, a fim de que possamos criar o nosso núcleo de atividades espirituais, dentro dos elevados propósitos de reforma e regeneração."[23]


BIOGRAPHY DR. BEZERRA DE MENEZES


Adolfo Bezerra de Menezes was born in the old Parish of Riacho do Sangue (today Jaguaretama), in the State of Ceará, on August 29, 1831, discarnating in Rio de Janeiro, on April 11, 1900.

In the year 1838, he entered the public school of Vila do Frade, where, in just ten months, he qualified himself to the limit of the knowledge that was transmitted to him by the teacher who directed the first phase of his education.

Very early on he revealed his dazzling intelligence, as at 11 years of age he began the course of Humanities and, at 13, he knew Latin so well that he himself taught it to his companions, substituting for the class teacher in his absences.

His father, the captain of the old militias and lieutenant-colonel of the National Guard, Antônio Bezerra de Menezes, a severe man, of utmost honesty and unblemished character, had a fortune in cattle ranches.

Politics and his good heart made him give favorable allowances to relatives and friends who sought him out to exploit his feelings of charity, compromising his fortune.

Realizing, however, that his debts equaled his assets, he sought out his creditors and proposed to give them everything he owned, which was enough to pay off the debt in full.

The creditors, all his friends, refused the proposal, telling him to pay how and when he wished. 

The honorable old man insisted.


However, he could not persuade the creditors on this resolution, so he decided to become a mere administrator of what had been his fortune, taking from it only what was strictly necessary for the maintenance of his family, which thus went from affluence to hardship.


Animated by the firm purpose of guiding himself by the upright character of his father, Bezerra de Menezes, with the meager sum that his relatives gave him and animated by the purpose of overcoming all obstacles, left for Rio de Janeiro, in order to follow the career that his vocation inspired in him: Medicine.


In November 1852, he entered as a resident practitioner at the Hospital da Santa Casa de Misericórdia.


He obtained his doctorate in 1856 from the Faculty of Medicine of Rio de Janeiro, defending the thesis "Diagnosis of Cancer".


At that point, he abandoned his last patronymic, and began to sign only Adolfo Bezerra de Menezes.


On April 27, 1857, he applied for a position as a full member of the Imperial Academy of Medicine, with the dissertation "Some Considerations on Cancer from the Treatment Point of View".


The opinion was read by the designated rapporteur, Academician José Pereira Rego, on May 11, 1857, with the election taking place on May 18 of the same year and the inauguration on June 1st.


In 1858, he applied for a position as a substitute professor in the Surgery Section of the Faculty of Medicine.


Through the intercession of master Manoel Feliciano Pereira de Carvalho, then Surgeon-General of the Army, Bezerra de Menezes was appointed his assistant, with the rank of Surgeon-Lieutenant.

Elected municipal councilor for the Liberal Party in 1861, his election was challenged by the conservative leader Haddock Lobo, on the grounds that he was a military doctor.


With the objective of serving his party, which needed him to have a majority in the Chamber, he decided to leave the Army.


In 1867, he was elected General Deputy, and was also included on a three-name list for a career in the Senate.

When he was a politician, harsh campaigns of insult were raised against him, as happens with all honest politicians, covering his name with insults.

However, he gave proof of the purity of his soul when he decided to abandon public life and dedicate himself to the poor, sharing the little he had with the needy.

He always ran to the poor man's hovel where there was an evil to fight, bringing to the afflicted the comfort of his kind word, the resource of his medical profession, and the help of his meager and generous purse.

Temporarily away from political activity, he dedicated himself to business enterprises. 

He created the Macaé/Campos Railroad Company, in the then province of Rio de Janeiro.

Later, he engaged in the construction of the Santo Antônio de Pádua Railway, intending to take it to the Rio Doce, a desire he was unable to fulfill.

He was one of the directors of the Architectural Company that, in 1872, opened the Boulevard 28 de Setembro, in the then neighborhood of Vila Isabel.

In 1875, he was president of the São Cristóvão Tramway Company.

Returning to politics, he was elected councilor in 1876, serving the term until 1880. 

He was also president of the Chamber and General Deputy for the Province of Rio de Janeiro, in the year 1880.


Dr. Carlos Travassos had undertaken the first translation of the works of Allan Kardec and had brought to a successful conclusion the Portuguese version of "The Spirits' Book".

As soon as this book came off the press, he took a copy to Deputy Bezerra de Menezes, handing it to him with a dedication.

The episode was described as follows by the future Doctor of the Poor:

 "He gave it to me in the city and I lived in Tijuca, an hour's journey by tram. 

I boarded with the book and, as I had no distraction for the long journey, I said to myself: well, goodbye! I shall not go to hell for reading this...

Besides, it is ridiculous to confess myself ignorant of this philosophy, when I have studied all the philosophical schools.

Thinking thus, I opened the book and became attached to it, as had happened with the Bible. I read. But I found nothing that was new to my Spirit. However, all that was new to me!... I had already read or heard everything that was in "The Spirits' Book". 

I became seriously concerned with this wonderful fact and said to myself: it seems I was an unconscious spiritist, or, as is commonly said, by birth".

His literary capacity in the philosophical field having been demonstrated, both by his replies and by his doctrinal studies, the Propaganda Commission of the Spiritist Union of Brazil entrusted Bezerra de Menezes with writing a series of articles on Sundays in O Paiz, a traditional organ of the Brazilian press, directed by Quintino Bocaiúva, under the title Spiritism - Philosophical Studies.


The articles by Max, the pseudonym of Bezerra de Menezes, marked the golden age of spiritist propaganda in Brazil.


These articles were published, uninterruptedly, from 1886 to 1893.


In the bibliography of Bezerra de Menezes, before and after his conversion to Spiritism, the following works are listed: "Slavery in Brazil and the measures that should be taken to extinguish it without harm to the Nation"; "Brief considerations on the droughts of the North"; "The Haunted House"; "Madness under a New Prism"; "The Spiritist Doctrine as Theogonic Philosophy"; "Marriage and Shroud"; "Black Pearl"; "Lazarus - the Leper"; "History of a Dream"; "Gospel of the Future". He also wrote several biographies of famous men, such as the Viscount of Uruguay, the Viscount of Carvalas.


He was one of the editors of "A Reforma", a liberal organ of the Court, and editor of the newspaper "Sentinela da Liberdade".


On August 16, 1886, an audience of about two thousand people from the best society filled the hall of honor of the Guarda Velha, on Guarda Velha street, now Avenida 13 de Maio, in Rio de Janeiro, to listen in silence, moved, astonished, to the wise word of the eminent politician, the eminent doctor, the eminent citizen, the eminent Catholic, Dr. Bezerra de Menezes, who proclaimed his decided conversion to Spiritism.


Bezerra de Menezes held the charge of a doctor as a true priesthood.


Therefore, he used to say: A doctor does not have the right to finish a meal, nor to choose the time, nor to ask if it is far or near, when any afflicted person knocks on his door.

He who does not attend because he has visitors, because he has worked a lot and is tired, or because it is late at night, the road or the weather is bad, it is far away or on the hill, who, above all, asks for a car from someone who has no way to pay for the prescription, or tells the one who cries at the door to look for another, this one is not a doctor, he is a medicine merchant, who works to collect capital and interest from the expenses of graduation.


This is an unfortunate one, who sends to another the angel of charity who came to pay him a visit and brought him the only alms that could quench the thirst for wealth of his Spirit, the only one that was never lost in the comings and goings of life.


A small story of a great soul.


On a very rainy day, in the winter of 1896, Dr. Bezerra de Menezes was leaving the old building of the Brazilian Spiritist Federation, in Rio de Janeiro. Then, as he reached the exit door, he saw a thin man, looking very fragile, soaked by the rain and trembling with cold. He approached Dr. Bezerra, although very embarrassed, to ask him for some help. He said that he was a bricklayer, but had lost his job and could not find another.


— Doctor, I have a fever, my wife is feeling very ill, she is sick. We live in Morro da Mangueira with my little boy too, and it has been days since we have eaten.


Dr. Bezerra searched all his pockets, but found nothing to offer, not even a simple coin. However, with the kindness that was natural to him, moved by the suffering shown by the humble worker and father of a family, he quickly took off his own coat, helped the man put it on, and said to him:

— Everything I have, I give to you. When you get home, embrace your wife and your little boy, in the name of Jesus.


He embraced him tenderly and then set off towards his home.


In the blessed embrace, a simple gesture imbued with the kindness and faith of Dr. Bezerra de Menezes.


One day, some time later, Dr. Bezerra was going down the same old stairs of the Federation. And then, as he reached the gate, he saw a cheerful-looking man coming toward him. He looked well, was shaved and well dressed, approached, and thus asked:


— Doctor, do you remember me?


— Vaguely, I confess, replied Dr. Bezerra de Menezes.


— I am the one who came to ask you for help, and you gave me your coat. See it here. And besides, I also bought new trousers. You gave everything you had, what a treasure you gave me! You gave me a hug and the fever went away.


— I got home, my wife was crying. I told her everything that had happened and I also gave her a hug, and the fever disappeared. Then the two of us embraced our little boy and began to sing, thanking God despite the hunger, when someone knocked at our door. I went to answer, it was a friend who told me:


— I have just signed a contract for a job and I need a bricklayer. Since you are my friend, I thought of you and came to ask if you can do this work with me.


— Ah, Doctor, it was not you who embraced me. It was Jesus Christ! And I needed to come to thank you for all these blessings that we received and that certainly were brought about by your embrace!


Dr. Bezerra then, moved by the demonstration of faith, humbly replied:


— If only I had the strength to transmit the energy of the Lord… But, without a doubt, He answered your prayers!


In the year 1883, a frankly dispersive environment reigned within Spiritism in Brazil, and those who directed the spiritist centers in Rio de Janeiro felt the need for a closer and indestructible union.


The Spiritist Centers, where the Doctrine was taught, worked autonomously.

Each of them carried out its activity in a specific sector, unconcerned with knowing the activities of the others.

This state of affairs led them to the founding of the Brazilian Spiritist Federation (FEB).

At that time, many spiritist societies already existed, but the only ones that maintained hegemony were four: the Academic; the Fraternity; the Spiritist Union of Brazil and the Brazilian Spiritist Federation. However, rivalries and discords soon arose among them.

Under the auspices of Bezerra de Menezes, and following important instructions given by Allan Kardec through the medium Frederico Júnior, the famous Spiritist Center was founded.

However, Bezerra did not fail to give his cooperation to all other institutions.

The enthusiasm of the spiritists soon cooled, and the old sower found himself abandoned by his companions, becoming the only attendee of the Center.

The split was profound between the so-called "mystics" and "scientists," that is, spiritists who accepted Spiritism in its religious aspect, and those who accepted it simply for its scientific and philosophical side.

In 1893, the convulsion caused in Brazil by the Navy Revolt led to the closing of all societies, spiritist or not.

On Christmas of the same year, Bezerra ended the series of "Philosophical Studies" that he had been publishing in "O Paiz".

In 1894, the atmosphere showed signs of improvement and Bezerra's name was remembered as the only one capable of unifying the spiritist family.

The tireless fighter, at 63 years of age, assumed the presidency of the Brazilian Spiritist Federation.

The year 1900 began, and Bezerra de Menezes was struck by a violent cerebral congestion, which prostrated him in bed, from which he would never rise again.

A true pilgrimage of visitors flocked to his house. Sometimes the rich, sometimes the poor, sometimes the opulent, sometimes he who had nothing.

No one was unaware of the tremendous struggle in which the family of the great apostle of Spiritism was engaged.

Everyone knew his financial difficulties, but no one would have the courage to offer anything directly.

Therefore, the visitors delicately placed their alms under his pillow.

The next day, the person who went to change his pillowcases was surprised to see there everything from the poor man's penny to the wealthy man's two hundred thousand réis note!... 

He discarnated on April 11, 1900. 

After his discarnation, a true pilgrimage went to his residence to pay him the last visit.


On April 17, promoted by Leopoldo Cirne, some of Bezerra's friends gathered to reach an agreement on the best way to support his family, and a commission was then formed that worked under the presidency of Quintino Bocaiúva, senator of the Republic, to promote shows and concerts for the benefit of the family of the one who deserved the nickname "Brazilian Kardec".

Worthy of record was a case that happened to Dr. Bezerra de Menezes, when he was still a medical student.

He was in serious financial difficulties, needing the sum of fifty thousand réis (old Brazilian currency), for the payment of the Faculty fees and for other indispensable expenses in his dwelling, as the landlord, without any consideration, threatened to evict him.

Desperate - one of the rare times Bezerra despaired in life - and as he was not an unbeliever, he raised his eyes to the Heights and appealed to God.

A few days later, there was a knock on his door. It was a pleasant young man with polite manners who wanted to arrange some mathematics lessons.

Bezerra refused at first, claiming that this was the subject he most detested, however, the visitor insisted and finally, remembering his desperate situation, he decided to accept.

The young man then claimed that he might squander the allowance received from his father, and asked for permission to pay for all the classes in advance.

After some reluctance, convinced, he agreed. The young man then handed him the sum of fifty thousand réis.

Having arranged the day and time for the start of the classes, the visitor said goodbye, leaving Bezerra very happy, as he was thus able to pay the rent and the Faculty fees.

He looked for books in the public library to prepare himself in the subject, but the boy never appeared again.


In the year 1894, in view of the prevailing dissensions within Brazilian Spiritism, some brethren, led by Dr. Bittencourt Sampaio, decided to invite Bezerra to assume the presidency of the Brazilian Spiritist Federation.


In view of his reluctance to take on that thorny task, the following conversation took place: They want me to return to the Federation. As you know, that old society is without a president and disoriented. Instead of methodical works on Spiritism or the Gospel, it lives to discuss byzantine theses and to feed the spirit of hegemony. 

The worker in the vineyard, said Bittencourt Sampaio, is always supported. 

The Federation may be wrong in its doctrinal propaganda, but it has the Assistance to the Needy, which is enough in itself to attract to it the sympathies of the Lord's servants.

Agreed. But the Assistance to the Needy is exclusively adopting Homeopathy in the treatment of the sick, a therapy that I adopt in my personal treatment, in that of my family, and recommend to my friends, without, however, being a homeopathic doctor. 

This, by the way, has created serious difficulties for me, making me a useless and displaced doctor who does not believe in official medicine and advises that of the Spirits, thus not having the right to practice the profession. 

And why don't you become a homeopathic doctor? said Bittencourt. I don't understand a thing about Homeopathy. I use the one of the Spirits and not the one of the doctors. 

At that moment, the medium Frederico Júnior, incorporating the Spirit of St. Augustine, made an aside:

 All the better. We will help you with greater ease in the treatment of our brothers. 

How, kind Spirit? Do you suggest I live off Spiritism? 

No, certainly not! You will live from your profession, giving your client the fruit of your human knowledge, for that studying Homeopathy as our companion Bittencourt advised you. 

We will help you in another way: By bringing you, when you need them, new disciples of Mathematics.


Source: Spiritist Biographies Website accessed on 07/25/2008 www.espiritismogi.com.br/biografias/bezerra.htm


world: “Outside of Christ there is no solution.”


Bezerra de Menezes Source: Paulo e Estevão Spiritist Group


Attachments: Published Articles and Works Curriculum Photos


Page 35 (Image)

Adolfo Bezerra de Menezes Published Articles and Works:


Diagnoses of Cancer.

Some considerations on cancer, from the perspective of its treatment.

On the operations required by the narrowing of the urethra.

Biography of the Viscount of Uruguay, Paulino José Soares de Souza.

Biography of Viscount Caravelas, Manoel Alves Branco.

Slavery in Brazil, and measures that should be taken to extinguish it without harm to the Nation.

Brief considerations on the droughts of the North.

The sheep of Panurge.

The Spiritist Doctrine as Theogonic Philosophy or A Letter from Bezerra de Menezes.

Madness under a New Prism.

Spiritism, (Philosophical Studies).

The dead who live.

Secrets of Nature.

The Black Pearl.

Gospel of the Future.

Lazarus, the Leper.

History of a Dream.

Bandit.

The Haunted House.

Journey through the Centuries.

Marriage and Shroud, (incomplete).

Wrote for “A Sentinela da Liberdade” in the period of 1869/70.

Spiritist doctrinal articles in the newspaper “O Paiz” in the period of 1877 to 1894.

Editor-in-chief of “Reformador”, organ of the Brazilian Spiritist Federation.

Page 36 (Image)

Adolfo Bezerra de Menezes Was a member of:


National Academy of Medicine and honorary member of the Surgical section.

Pharmaceutical Institute.

Geographical Society of Lisbon.

Auxiliary Society of National Industry.

Physico-Chemical Society.

Society for the Propagation of Fine Arts.

Beneficent Society of Ceará, (President).

Council of the Lyceum of Arts and Crafts.

São Cristóvão Urban Tram Company, (President).

Macaé to Campos Railroad Company, (Founder).

Architectural Company, (Director).


References


[1] Federação Espírita Brasileira. Reformador. Rio de Janeiro; Brasília: 1883 to 2025.


Available for research at febmidia.com/revista_reformador


[2] WANTUIL, Z. Grandes espíritas do Brasil. 2nd ed. Rio de Janeiro: FEB, 1969. p. 232.


3. Bezerra de Menezes – Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre https://share.google/I23Rez9Gd2LOKO3mF


4. Brasil_Coracao_do_Mundo_Patria_do_Evangelho.pdf https://share.google/WzmzitbhhzMnvqpIw


#efemeridesespiritas #comunicacaofeb #federacaoespiritabr #brasilespirita


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sexta-feira, 29 de agosto de 2025

Collection of Human Rights Jurisprudence of the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil & Human Rights Treaties Received in Brazil and the Jurisprudential Understanding of the Federal Supreme Court Tratados de Direitos Humanos recepcionados no Brasil e entendimento jurisprudencial do Supremo Tribunal Federal

Collection of Human Rights Jurisprudence of the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil


SUMMARY


Abbreviations, acronyms, and notations 9

Dimensions of human rights 11

Hierarchical position of international human rights treaties 13

Political regimes and human rights 16

Jellinek’s theory of the four statuses 21

Principle of human dignity 22

Principle of equality 28

Principle of legality and retroactivity in criminal law 38

Principle of proportionality 40

Principle of prohibition of social regression 42

Principle of the reserve of the possible and guarantee of existential minimum 43

Right to life 46

Right to a name 49

Right to nationality 50

Right of movement and residence 52

Right to private property 53

Protection of honor and dignity 57

Right to compensation 60

Rights of the prisoner 61

Right to personal integrity 72

Prohibition of torture 75

Prohibition of slavery and servitude 78

Right to personal freedom 81

Freedom of thought and expression 87

Right to correction or reply 97

Freedom of belief and religion 99

Political rights 105

Right of assembly 109

Freedom of association 112

Judicial guarantees 114

Due process of law 115

Adversarial principle 116

Broad defense 117

Nemo tenetur se detegere 120

Natural judge 121

Res judicata 123

Publicity 124

Double degree of jurisdiction 126

Reservation of jurisdiction 127

Presumption of innocence 128

Access to justice 134

Reasonable duration of proceedings 137

Right to health 139

Right to education 142

Family protection 145

Rights of children and adolescents 154

Protection of women 160

Rights of the elderly 167

Rights of persons with disabilities 169

Rights of indigenous people 172

Right to the environment 176

Public policies 180

Public Defender’s Office 182

Public Prosecutor’s Office 185

International Criminal Court 187

Extradition process 189

Miscellaneous issues 197 

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Fundamental Rights and Human Rights

The present article addresses the incorporation of international Human Rights treaties into the Brazilian domestic legal order. 

There is a wide range of positions on the subject in national doctrine and jurisprudence, which justifies this research. 

The central issue to be answered by the article is what position the Federal Supreme Court takes regarding the inclusion of international treaties on Human Rights in the Brazilian legal system. 

The objective is to analyze the main forms of interpretation on the matter, namely: normative parity; supralegality; supraconstitutionality; and the constitutional bloc. In particular, the aim is to evaluate the STF’s jurisprudence regarding the application of international Human Rights treaties. 

The sources used are STF jurisprudence, as well as articles and books that deal with the subject.

 ACADEMIA.EDU 


https://www.academia.edu/1343589/Tratados_de_Direitos_Humanos_recepcionados_no_Brasil_e_entendimento_jurisprudencial_do_Supremo_Tribunal_Federal?source=swp_share



INTERNATIONAL TREATIES AND DUE PROCESS OF LAW IN THE INTER-AMERICAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS: REACH AND SENSES OF JUDICIAL PROTECTION André Luiz Valim Vieira¹ The theme of judicial protection (Article 25) of the Convention affirms the right of every person to a simple and prompt recourse or to any other effective recourse, before competent judges and tribunals.

INTER - UFRJ JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW AND HUMAN RIGHTS Vol. 4, no. 2, July to December - 2021. pp 211-224 



INTERNATIONAL TREATIES AND DUE PROCESS OF LAW IN THE INTER-AMERICAN 

COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS: REACH AND SENSES OF JUDICIAL PROTECTION 


André Luiz Valim Vieira¹ 


Abstract: The present work has as its general objective the study and analysis of international treaties to which Brazil has expressed its support or agreement and deals with due international legal process and how this theme is addressed by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the trial of cases and processes related to human rights provided for in the American Convention on Human Rights (Pact of San José, Costa Rica). 


For a specific objective, we intend to identify how the Inter-American Court treats the process and proceedings before its jurisdiction and in what way it seeks to guarantee the right to due process of law and the perspective of the court's judges on the scope and characteristics of the institute of judicial protection, using for this purpose cases and judgments of the court itself to which Brazil was a party.


 For this research, we used the analytical method through a historical-bibliographic research. 


Keywords: Due process of law; Human Rights; Judicial guarantee; Judicial protection.

 Abstract: 


The present work has as it's general objective the study and analysis of international treaties to which Brazil has expressed its support or agreement and deals with due international legal process and how this theme is addressed by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the trial of cases and processes related to human rights provided for in the American Convention on Human Rights (Pact of San José de Costa Rica). 


For a specific objective, we intend to identify how the Inter-American Court treats the process and proceedings before its jurisdiction and how it seeks to guarantee the right to due process of law and the perspective of the judges of the court on the scope and characteristics of the institute of judicial protection, using cases and judgments of the court itself to which Brazil was a party. 


For this research, we used analytical methods through a historical-bibliographic research. 


Keywords: Due process; Human Rights; Judicial guarantee; Judicial protection. 


Table of Contents: 

1. Introduction. 

2. Due Process of Law and Judicial Protection. 

3. Jurisprudence of the Court and Brazil as a party: Cases Damião Ximenes Lopes and Nogueira de Carvalho. 

4. Scope and Interpretation of Due Process of Law as Judicial Protection in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. 

5. Final Considerations. 

6. Bibliography. 

"We are what we do, but we are, mainly, what we do to change what we are." Eduardo Galeano 1 


INTRODUCTION 


This article aims to study and understand the scope and limits of the guarantees of due process of law on the themes of judicial guarantee and judicial protection as provided for and understood by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. 


For this purpose, we will use analytical methods through a historical-bibliographic research. 


Our general objective is, therefore, the study and analysis of international treaties to which Brazil has expressed adhesion or agreement and that address international due process of law, and how this theme is approached by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the judgment of cases and processes related to human rights provided for in the American Convention on Human Rights (Pact of San José, Costa Rica). 


Furthermore, as a specific objective, we intend to identify how the Inter-American Court handles the process and procedures before its jurisdiction and in what way it seeks to guarantee the right to due process of law and the perspective of the court's judges on the scope and characteristics of judicial guarantees, using for this purpose cases and judgments of the court itself to which Brazil was a party.


 In the first part, we will address due process of law as the application of the hypotheses provided for in the regulations on access to justice, regarding judicial protection (Art. 25 of the American Convention on Human Rights). 


In the second part of this work, in order to limit the scope of the institutes of due process of law concerning "judicial protection," as to interpretation and application, we will analyze the contentious cases in which Brazil was a party before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, intending then to analyze 02 (two) decisions: Ximenes Lopes vs Brazil, with a judgment of July 4, 2006; and, Nogueira de Carvalho and Another vs Brazil, judgment of November 28, 2006. 

Both were delivered in the same year, 2006, and reveal the Inter-American Court's concern with the ineffectiveness of the Brazilian criminal prosecution system. In the third part, finally, we propose to understand the scope and meaning of due process and the institute of access to justice as effective judicial protection, as provided for in Article 25 of the American Convention. 

We thus intend to verify how an inefficient and unjust procedural system, prone to impunity, violates due process of law. In this case, Brazil has the opportunity of these landmark decisions as a means to modify and improve its procedural justice system with a view to giving effect to the precept inscribed in the human rights treaty (American convention). 2 DUE PROCESS OF LAW AND JUDICIAL PROTECTION. 

To speak of due process of law first requires reporting a concept that everyone understands, yet it lacks adequacy and adaptation to the observed reality. If it were necessary to make a list of the essential requirements for due process of law, we would hardly reach a consensus due to the particularities of each legal system and from various prisms. However, a more rationally constructible task is to analyze a given case or process and verify whether it respects minimum and reasonable internationally recognized standards. Firstly, and still for the purpose of establishing a basis for dialogue, we need to understand that when we refer to due process of law, we are referring to minimum conditions of legality and juridicity centered on historical-rational constructions regarding certain rights that must be provided for and guaranteed for any punishment or penalty to exist: from criminal reprimands to civil and administrative liabilities. Secondly, we also need to keep in mind that due process of law represents minimum and necessary conditions in any type of process or procedure that may BY 

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Vol. 4, no. 2, July to December 2021. pp 211-224 result in prejudice or restrictions to internationally provided for and guaranteed human rights: whether in judicial processes or any other process or procedure of a non-jurisdictional nature that could result in limitations or restrictions of human rights or fundamental rights positively expressed in domestic legislation. Judicial guarantees can be understood as a set of requirements that must be observed in procedural instances (RIVAS, 2019, p. 264). In the specific case of judicial protection, this norm represents a plexus of provisions and guarantees corresponding to access to justice. And more than merely formal access to justice, it establishes conditions and certain obligations for the Public Power, both for judicial bodies and for the administrative, investigative, and public policy promotion spheres, to guarantee every person access to the administration of justice in its entirety for the realization of their rights. Article 25 Judicial Protection 

§1. Everyone has the right to a simple and prompt recourse, or any other effective recourse, to a competent court or tribunal for protection against acts that violate his fundamental rights recognized by the constitution or laws of the state or by this Convention, even though such violation may have been committed by persons acting in the course of their official duties. §2. 

The States Parties undertake: 

§3. To ensure that the competent authority provided for by the legal system of the State shall decide on the rights of any person who lodges such a recourse. §4. To develop the possibilities of judicial recourse. 

§5. To ensure the enforcement, by the competent authorities, of any decision in which the recourse has been deemed well-founded. Since the judgment of the Velásquez Rodríguez vs. Honduras case, when analyzing the exceptions and preliminary objections of this hard case, the Inter-American Court has established as a cornerstone of access to justice and due process of law, instituting as a state obligation, the provision of access for victims of human rights violations to an effective jurisdiction with a reasonable duration regarding any consequences and responsibilities. Judicial protection in the first paragraph of Article 25 proclaims the right to access to justice. This, therefore, represents a peremptory norm of International Law (RIVAS, 2019, p. 748). More than that, access to justice and its corollaries, such as the right of action and the right to petition, are not exhausted with the mere processing of cases in the competent jurisdiction according to the procedural rules of each country. On the contrary, they mean ensuring that victims, their 

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families, and indirectly all of society, in a reasonable and not delayed time, have the right to obtain and achieve a jurisdictional response that allows for the delimitation and identification of those responsible, civilly or criminally, thus applying the penalties and reparations that are due according to the laws and human rights: both provided for domestically and in international treaties and conventions. For Brazil and its procedural norms, due process of law represents the right to a fair, effective, and timely process; adding also the right to a response on the merits from the Judiciary regarding what is expected or intended by the parties to the process. For these reasons, it is affirmed that due process of law, in contemporary times, represents the right to a jurisdictional response or protection within a reasonable time. "Judicial protection consists in the predisposition to all of a fair, adequate, and effective process, with all the necessary means to obtain the best possible result for the situation brought to court. It is the jurisdiction's response to the parties' right to participate in court" (MARINONI, 2021, p. 41). Regardless of whether this jurisdictional response is yes or no regarding compensation; whether it consists of a conviction or an acquittal in a criminal action. However, if there is no response or decision within a reasonable time, one is inevitably facing a violation of internationally protected human rights. 3 JURISPRUDENCE OF THE COURT AND BRAZIL AS A PARTY: THE CASES OF DAMIÃO XIMENES LOPES AND NOGUEIRA DE CARVALHO. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights, founded on May 22, 1979, is located in San José, Costa Rica, and was created by the American Convention on Human Rights. For the purpose of this work, in order to limit the scope of the institutes of due process of law concerning "judicial protection," as to their interpretation and application in the contentious cases in which Brazil was a party before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, we intend to analyze 02 (two) decisions: Ximenes Lopes vs Brazil, with a judgment of July 4, 2006; and, Nogueira de Carvalho and Another vs Brazil, judgment of November 28, 2006. 

The first case, submitted to the Commission on November 22, 1999, concerned Brazil's responsibility for the violation of rights enshrined in the American Convention on BY NC ND RECEIVED: 30/11/2021ACCEPTED: 09/12/2021 This work is licensed with a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. --- PAGE 6 --- 216 

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Human Rights related to life, personal integrity, judicial guarantees, and specifically, judicial protection (Art. 25) of the rights charter in relation to Damião Ximenes Lopes. Then a patient in a private psychiatric hospital that provided services through the public health system (SUS), the victim died as a result of various aggressions and omissions. While undergoing psychiatric treatment, Damião Ximenes Lopes was a victim of violent, inhuman, and degrading conditions. In addition to this fact, the infringement of human rights protective norms post factum occurred due to the lack of investigation and judicial guarantees of the legal process to determine responsibility, that is, the omission of the Public Powers continued even after the victim's death, as the investigation and accountability system were not responsible for resolving the events, resulting in impunity. The victim's sister, Irene Ximenes Lopes Miranda, then petitioned the Commission (petition no. 12.237) requesting the Brazilian State be held responsible. The Inter-American Commission sent an official document (Merits Report No. 43/03) to Brazil, setting a two-month deadline for the implementation of solutions and responses. However, after the deadline passed and with the absence of measures, the case was taken to the 

Inter-American Court. During the procedural course, many facts and evidentiary acts took place, leading up to the merits judgment on July 4, 2006. The issue of judicial protection, contained in Article 25 of the Convention, was then recognized as having been breached by Brazil, since, after more than 06 (six) years since the death of Damião Ximenes Lopes, neither the criminal process nor the civil liability action had yet concluded, remaining pending and in progress. The theme of access to justice of due process of law from the perspective of the rights of the victim and society had a second highlight in the judgment of the Nogueira de Carvalho and Another vs Brazil case. The parents of Gilson Nogueira de Carvalho submitted a petition to the 

Inter-American Commission reporting the death of their son, then a lawyer and denouncer of extermination practices and crimes against human rights in the State of Rio Grande do Norte, carried out by police authorities. The violation of judicial protection occurred due to the presumed lack of due diligence in the process of investigating the facts and punishing those responsible for the death of the human rights lawyer who dedicated part of his professional work to denouncing crimes committed 

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by the group that called itself and was known as the "golden boys," a supposed extermination group that included civil police officers and other state officials. The Inter-American Court in the Nogueira de Carvalho Case found a violation of the right to judicial protection, as it was established that the authorities' actions in the investigation of the death of the lawyer and human rights defender were deficient, taking into account the pre-existing evidence regarding the possible involvement of members of the Civil Police of the State of Rio Grande do Norte. Even with the identification of the perpetrators, a reasonable procedural progress was not possible. The victim's parents and petitioners before the Inter-American Commission used all the resources that were, in theory, available; these, however, were systematically denied for formal procedural reasons. As in the Ximenes Lopes case, the Nogueira de Carvalho case exposed internationally Brazil's fragility in implementing measures to effectively punish those responsible: sometimes due to a lack of investigation, a deficient and insufficient investigation, the delay of the criminal process, or the impunity resulting from the lack of accountability. When dealing with crimes committed by state agents and public authorities, often, the inertia or omission of the State itself is interpreted as a disinterest in punishment, because in doing so, it would be acknowledging the crimes and errors committed by the state entity itself through its public security representatives: in the case brought to international judgment, for the fact that state agents practiced crimes and illegalities: they kidnapped, murdered, and tortured people, without receiving adequate investigation or any punishment. In both cases submitted to and judged by the Inter-American Court, we perceive the failures and omissions of the Brazilian State in its internal systems of investigation and judicial processing. Because, from the perspective of international law, compliance with the treaty is examined. The State is evaluated as a whole, regardless of the body or norm that breaches the international commitment (ECHEVERRIA, 2017, p. 11). This means infringement by state authorities of various powers. However, when it comes to disrespect for international human rights norms, it becomes clearly identifiable how the inter-federative system fails in its institutional missions. The protection provided for in the theoretical-normative plane proves to be fragile and deficient. RECEIVED: 

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4 SCOPE AND INTERPRETATION OF DUE PROCESS OF LAW AS JUDICIAL PROTECTION IN THE INTER-AMERICAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS. When we think of cases judged by

international courts of justice, among which the Inter-American Court of Human Rights is included, we are reflecting on contentious cases where sensitive and relevant facts violating internationally regulated human rights have occurred. Also considering the decisions of international courts as a source of International Law, according to the provision of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, the study of international jurisprudence is extremely essential. Although international jurisprudence has gained prominence in recent decades, there is still a chasm between the theory and the reality of human rights in relation to the reality of countries, especially those of the third world. It consists, then, "[...] of the set of repeated judicial decisions in the same sense, in similar matters, rendered by international jurisdictional bodies for the settlement of disputes relating to matters of International Law" (PORTELA, 2015, p. 67). While there are legislative and legal provisions for protection, sometimes these normative systems are not perfected, thus there is a gap in the efficiency and effectiveness of human rights protection at the international level. For each case judged, how many countless other similar or alike events occur in the signatory countries of that rights treaty. How many aggressive and delegitimizing facts of human rights occur hidden, without a solution or remediation. This distance between theory and practice that we see as natural and indisputable is based on the reasons that justify indolence and passivity when it comes to building (or destroying) human rights daily and in all social places. Surely we can see the trap here: by considering the distance between what is practiced and what is said as natural, normal, and indisputable, one is consolidating and strengthening a way of understanding and practicing human coexistence without aspirations of achieving greater coherence in what is universally socio-historically produced, and which plays into the particular interests of those who benefit most from this being so for personal desires, for intentions and power relations, or because they are convinced that life can only be classified through hierarchies and classifications of people who are superior and deserve better conditions of existence compared to others who, by being considered inferior and losers, deserve to be treated with contempt. (RUBIO, 2016, p. 04) 

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In the Damião Ximenes Lopes case, the Court's interpretation of Article 25 was that victims of human rights violations, or their families, should have ample opportunities to be heard and to act in the respective processes, both in the attempt to clarify the facts and punish those responsible, and in the search for a due, integral, fair, and effective reparation; this means, in a reasonable time and in an amount that can repair the damage. Regarding effective material reparation consisting of compensation, the Court has several precedents for economic and indemnifying compensations to achieve integral reparation (OCHOA-SANCHEZ, 2021, p. 318). Conversely, the ineffectiveness of criminal procedure and penal accountability still does not find efficient means of reparation to this day. Although through recommendations the Brazilian State has proposed in recent years to make reforms in legislation on investigation methods and on criminal procedural procedures; few advances have been made. We could even say that these advances are still insufficient and inefficient today for a reasonable duration of the process, should the cases of both Damião Ximenes Lopes and Nogueira de Carvalho be repeated today. Due process of law in its aspect of effectiveness and respect for procedural rights and guarantees is also deduced from the human right of access to justice for the victim or their representatives and family members. The omission of the Brazilian State was precisely not to carry out and provide an effective investigation and a judicial process conducted in accordance with the requirements of the American Convention, with the aim of clarifying the facts, punishing those criminally responsible, and granting adequate compensation for civil liability. The Court has already established that the criteria for analyzing whether a process had a reasonable duration or not are: those related to the complexity of the matter; the procedural activity and participation of the interested parties; and, the conduct of the authorities and procedural subjects. In the judgment of the Damião Ximenes Lopes vs Brazil Case, the Court reached the conclusion that: 

Based on the chapter on proven facts, as well as on the allegations of the Commission, the representatives, and the State, this Court considers that this case is not complex. There is a single victim, who is clearly identified and who died in a hospital institution, which makes it possible for the criminal proceedings against the alleged perpetrators, who are identified and located, 

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to be simple. Furthermore, from the body of evidence, it is clear that the family of Mr. Damião Ximenes Lopes cooperated in the processing of the police investigation and the criminal and civil proceedings, with the purpose of advancing the procedure, knowing the truth of what happened, and establishing the respective responsibilities. [...] The delay in the process was solely due to the conduct of the judicial authorities. (IACtHR, 2006) 

It should be highlighted that it is a basic principle of the law of international responsibility of the State, supported by International Human Rights Law, that every State is internationally responsible for acts or omissions of any of its powers or organs in violation of internationally consecrated rights. After all, the responsibility of States for the commission of internationally wrongful acts (TRINDADE, 2021, p. 21) is demandable for both actions and practices as well as for omissions. An omissive attitude of the State in not providing or foreseeing mechanisms for a reasonable duration of the process through legislative and administrative norms and for the effectiveness of determining responsibilities for human rights violations leads to disrespect and afflicts the human dignity of the victim and their families, regarding impunity of a criminal nature and civil non-accountability. The Inter-American Court considers that, according to the 

Convention, States Parties are obliged to provide effective judicial remedies to victims of human rights violations (Article 25), which must be substantiated in accordance with the rules of due process of law. Therefore, the argument of delay in the judicial process of accountability due to respect for the due process of the accused and defendants and their procedural defense guarantees cannot obstruct the due process of law of the victim and society. The Court, in the ratio decidendi of its judgment, concluded that the State did not provide the family of Ximenes Lopes with an effective remedy to guarantee access to justice, the determination of the truth of the facts, the investigation, identification, processing, and, if applicable, the punishment of those responsible and reparation for the consequences of the violations. The State is, therefore, responsible for the violation of the rights to judicial guarantees (Article 8) and, especially, to judicial protection (Article 25) of the Convention. Due process of law has its guarantor aspect and procedure for the protection of the rights and procedures necessary for criminal conviction and civil liability for crimes and damages. It is a means of protecting the individual and all persons against authoritarian inroads by state representatives, 

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against exceptional courts or tribunals, and against restrictions on internationally prescribed human rights: such as liberty and property. However, due process of law also has an aspect or face of protecting the victim and their family, if not all of society, consisting in the provision of effective, efficient, and reasonable means of procedural processing with the objective of reaching a final decision concerning criminal and civil responsibilities for illicit acts that affect human rights provided for in international rights treaties. When due process of law as a legitimate personal and institutional expectation of accountability is not realized, inevitably, there is an infringement of the provision of Article 25 of the Convention. As long as the right to petition and accountability - whether initiated by the offended party, the victim, or their family, and by the state body constitutionally holding this prerogative - is not materially achievable in actions that have a reasonable duration, effective results, and the certainty of fair and impartial judgments, due process of law is not fully complete. Furthermore, due process of law also includes the recognition of a natural and impartial court, without interference from other organs of the Public Power, a clear violation of due process (CATALÀ i BAS, 2017, p. 109). It is difficult, when due process of law, in its facet of reasonable duration of the process and effectiveness, develops with hindrances, delays, and slowness for years without a decision on the merits, to abstract from the procedural march the interference of other powers or authorities precisely aiming at the non-conclusion of the accountability procedure. 




5 FINAL CONSIDERATIONS. 


In this work, we sought to address the theme of due process of law from the perspective of the right to access to justice based on the primacy of the "judicial protection" guarantee as provided for in Article 25 of the American Convention on Human Rights (Pact of San José, Costa Rica). 

By analyzing the judgments in which the Brazilian State was involved and convicted in 2006: the Ximenes Lopes Case; and, Nogueira de Carvalho, we were able to highlight how the primacy of judicial protection and the search for a process with a reasonable duration and a proportional result serve to guarantee the rights of the victims and of all those who may suffer direct or ricochet damages from the violation of human rights. 


In these cases under international sub judice, the issue of due process of law was addressed from the perspective of the victim, their family, and society, as the cases were only brought before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights due to the omission of the Brazilian Public 

Power in taking measures conducive to the efficiency and reasonable duration of the process.

 The Judiciary and other executive, investigative, and repressive bodies proved to be excessively slow, formal, bureaucratic, and inefficient. This resulted in the perpetuation of the suffering of the families of the victims of the acts committed and not judged by the Brazilian State. The investigation actions and the promotion of judicial processes that could result in a merits analysis regarding civil and criminal liability were excessively long and delayed.

Many years after the deaths and violation of the victims' human rights occurred, there was still no judicial decision to determine any responsibilities and perpetrators: by action or even by omission. 

This state inefficiency ends up doubly violating the order of human rights guarantees: first, that of the victim; and, subsequently, that of the families and society when the process of investigation and accountability proves incapable of resolving a just decision in a reasonable time. The disrespect and ineffectiveness of judicial protection and access to a fair process with a reasonable duration and effective solution ends up violating the human rights of the families, resulting in even more impunity and injustice. 


The theme of judicial protection (Article 25) of the Convention affirms the right of every person to a simple and prompt recourse or to any other effective recourse, before competent judges and tribunals. 

The term "recourses" used in the expression of the cited article refers, therefore, to means and conditions and not only to recourses stricto sensu as procedural manifestations of nonconformity. By not providing an effective investigation and an efficient judicial process with a reasonable duration, Brazil, in the cases of Damião Ximenes and Gilson Nogueira, ended up directly violating the human right to which it was a signatory. 


In both cases, it was possible to ascertain that the actions and omissions were carried out directly by state representatives and authorities and, therefore, in official missions and in accordance with the law. Even so, the protection of the victim and their family occurred deficiently: which is why due process of law as judicial protection is denoted as an attribute of guaranteeing a fair and reasonable process, achieving a judicial decision on 

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the merits of the violated human rights and with the accountability of its authors or those directly linked to the omissions of the duty of protection.

Without this, that is, without the predictability of judicial and procedural means of accountability along with the achievement of decisions within reasonable and consistent timeframes with the legitimate expectations of society and the victims' representatives; we cannot speak of the guarantee and effectiveness of the human rights ratified at the international level by Brazil. 

The guarantee of judicial protection enshrined in Article 25 of the American Convention, therefore, more than being the content of the expression of this right, consists of a state duty whose non-fulfillment must be demanded of the Brazilian State: including through measures to (re)structure the means of investigation and accountability via the Judiciary. 


6 REFERENCES 


CATALÀ i BAS, Alexandre H.; 

TORRICOS, Marcela Ortíz. La comunicación horizontal y vertical en los sistemas americano y europeo de protección de derechos humanos: a propósito del derecho al juez natural. Estudios de Deusto, v. 65-1, p. 73-121, January-June. 2017. 


IACHR COURT. Caso Damião Ximenes Lopes versus Brasil, 2006, 106 p. Available at: https://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/casos/articulos/seriec_149_por.pdf. 


IACHR COURT. Caso Nogueira de Carvalho e Outros versus Brasil, 2006, 37 p. 

Available at: https://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/casos/articulos/seriec_161_por.pdf


ECHEVERRIA, Andrea de Quadro Dantas; 

VARELLA, Marcelo Dias. A construção do direito ao duplo grau de jurisdição nas cortes europeia e interamericana de direitos humanos. Pensar: Revista de Ciências Jurídicas, Fortaleza, v. 23, no. 1, p. 1-15, Jan./Mar. 2018. 


MARINONI, Luis Guilherme Bittencourt et al. Código de Processo Civil Comentado. 07 ed. São Paulo: Revista dos Tribunais, 2020. 


OCHOA-SANCHEZ, Juan Carlos. Control Judicial de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos y Programas Masivos de Reparaciones: Hacia un Enfoque más Matizado. Revista de Direito Internacional, Brasília, v. 18, no. 1, p. 308-332, 2021. 


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Juspodivm, 2015. 


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RUBIO, David Sánchez. Uma perspectiva crítica sobre democracia e direitos humanos.


O Direito Alternativo, v. 3, no. 1, pp. 210-232, December. 2016. 


TRINDADE, Vinícius Fox Drummond Cançado. 


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