The criminal code of procedure and the 1841 law of reform: legislative debates and foreign influences in the dispute to establish different forms of state organization

• Grant number: 11/17829-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Start date: November 21, 2011
• End date: January 13, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - History of Brazil
• Principal Investigator: Monica Duarte Dantas
• Grantee: Monica Duarte Dantas
• Host Investigator: António Manuel Hespanha
• Host Institution: Instituto de Estudos Brasileiros (IEB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal

Abstract

Scholars specialized in 19th century Brazilian history all agree that the 1832 Code of Criminal Procedure and the law that subsequently reformed it are of major importance for the understanding of Brazilian politics during the formation of the Nation-State. However, despite theoretical differences among those who mentioned or directly studied the content or impact of both laws, the scholarly tendency has been to interpret them as an opposition between localism (decentralization) and centralism, leaving behind deeper understandings concerning its meanings regarding procedural questions, or even their significance in the process of organization of the judicial apparatus in Brazil. Thus, through the comparison of Brazilian legislation with that proposed or approved in Spain and, particularly, Portugal, this research aims to further the debate by showing how the contents of both laws implied different propositions regarding not only individual rights, but also distinct forms of State organization. Those hypothesis depart from recent studies concerning the Brazilian Criminal Code, that allowed us to perceive that the circulation and influence of foreign models were much greater than until now acknowledged, and also from international literature that deals with judiciary organization and the administration of justice (in countries like Portugal, Spain and France). (AU)