AREA OF RESEARCH

The Graduate Program in Law (PPGD) at the Centro Universitário Autônomo do Brasil—categorized under Academic Programs—aims to foster ongoing research into the potential connections, interdependencies, and intersections between the theory of fundamental rights, their effectiveness, and the theory of democracy. This focus emphasizes challenges emerging in countries of so-called late or unrealized modernity, as well as their dynamics in a globalized world. The program’s research and studies are grounded in the premise that fundamental rights—understood in a broad, socially rooted sense that transcends their liberal origins—represent an unparalleled civilizational achievement that cannot be rolled back. Furthermore, these rights should serve as the foundation for interpreting the democratic principle as a prerequisite for legitimate political organization, both within nation-states and in supranational political communities. Contemporary history demonstrates that the full potential of fundamental rights—their scope and realization—cannot be substantially understood without fostering and actualizing spaces for democratic legitimacy. This underscores how the PPGD aligns with the articulation, relevance, and modernization of its concentration area, addressing themes connected to contemporary and cross-cutting challenges in Brazil and the world.

This perspective rejects any opposition between fundamental rights and democracy, instead demanding a continuous dialogue and a dialectical interplay between the theory and practice of fundamental rights and the theory and practice of democracy. The full realization of democracy requires the implementation of constitutional and international mechanisms for fundamental rights, which must transcend mere declaratory functions and actively shape societal norms, particularly in refining political and democratic relations. This task is urgent in a globalized world dominated by neoliberal economistic thought, which has eroded rights, political agency, and democracy itself. Robust studies are thus essential to defending and strengthening the Democratic Rule of Law.

Within the Democratic Rule of Law, the development of constitutionalized policies to uphold fundamental rights and the experience of political discourse in democratically legitimate spaces reveal the inseparable link between understanding, interpreting, and realizing fundamental rights. Equally critical is the role of judicial systems and international organizations (through human rights frameworks) in this process. To achieve its goals, the program’s concentration area is *Fundamental Rights and Democracy*, divided into two research lines:
1. Constitution and Material Conditions of Democracy
2. Jurisdiction and Democracy

All research conducted within the program, particularly through its core groups, remains coherent and aligned with this framework. To fulfill its mission, the program prioritizes an impartial admissions process that selects candidates committed to developing research projects tied to its research lines.

Beyond transparent admissions, the PPGD at UniBrasil integrates with its undergraduate Law program through joint research and extension activities focused on themes aligned with the graduate program’s research lines. This synergy ensures continuity between academic levels and reinforces the program’s commitment to addressing pressing legal and democratic challenges.