O comportamento estratégico no Supremo Tribunal Federal e sua relação com a opinião pública

Abstract

The possibility that the public opinion could influence the decision-making process of the Federal Supreme Court’s Ministers motivated the development of this paper. In order for the subject to be well analyzed and understood, a deep study is made about the consolidation of the Brazilian democracy, which is based on the tripartite separation of powers theory. Thereafter a verification is undertaken on whether the division of functions among the legislative, executive and judiciary organs allows the proper functioning of the system of checks and balance. In sequence, the phenomena of the judicialization of politics and judicial activism are presented, which are criticized on the grounds that institutional deference is lacking to the other branches of government. Without seeking to judge the legitimacy of the judicial activity, that should be reasoned case-by-case, the concern is that the expansion of the Judiciary Power puts the Federal Supreme Court under intense exposure and, in a way, makes it vulnerable to the pressure from the public opinion, expressed in popular movements and transmitted by the media.