The National Democratic Union in justice's robes: politics, judging and presidency of Aliomar Baleeiro in Brazil's Supreme Court

• Grant number: 13/20514-9
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: March 01, 2014
• End date: March 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Law
• Principal Investigator: Rafael Mafei Rabelo Queiroz
• Grantee: Rafael Mafei Rabelo Queiroz
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Direito (FD). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The research will investigate the relations bewteen Law and Politics drawing from the carrer of Aliomar Baleeiro, especially in his eight-year term as justice to the Brazilian Supreme Court. Baleeiro, a leading author in Tax Law, made it to the Supreme Court after Institutional Act n. 2 (1965) increased the number of justices from 11 to 16, in order to allow the military government to appoint a large number of justices and thus gain influence in the Court's decisions. Baleeiro had stood out before his Supreme Court nomination also as a relevant politician of the Nacional Democratic Union, a civil party who openly supported the military coup. The research will consist on historical investigations in the various archives, including the Supreme Court's files and Baleeiro's personal archive, hosted in CPDOC-FGV in Rio de Janeiro. Ultimately, the research intends to find out if the circumstances of his appointment made him politically loyal to the military government in his acting as a justice. (AU)