Bureaucracies of Death: Exploring the Paths of State Civil Responsibility in Cases of Disappearance and Death of Imprisoned Individuals in São Paulo.

• Grant number: 23/07887-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): December 01, 2023
• Effective date (End): April 30, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Law - Public Law
• Principal Investigator: Flavia Portella Püschel
• Grantee: Luisa Mozetic Plastino
• Host Institution: Escola de Direito de São Paulo. Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This research project aims to understand how state civil accountability processes are operationalized in cases of custodial deaths in the state of São Paulo. Accordingly, the goal is to analyze how demands for accountability are brought forth and develop within the justice system, particularly within the judiciary, and how judicial institutions have responded to these demands. On one hand, through qualitative documentary approach and content analysis, the objective is to map and understand the jurisdictional actions of the São Paulo State Court of Justice in civil appeals that discuss state responsibility and its duty to compensate in cases of disappearance and death of inmates. Through this, the aim is to grasp the legal-dogmatic arguments that are mobilized to justify the recognition or denial of state responsibility for deaths in the São Paulo prison system. On the other hand, through a case study and by employing qualitative methods inspired by ethnography for document analysis and interviews, the intention is to follow the development of judicial processes for civil reparations, with the purpose of identifying the paths taken by family members of individuals who died in custodial settings, mainly mothers and partners. This will focus on both the obstacles they face and the types of rights advocacy strategies developed within and outside the legal field. Thus, the aim is to also contribute to an analysis of the institutional functioning of the São Paulo justice system and the possibilities of accessing justice in contexts of state violence.