AI and Fundamental Rights: Constitutional Limits
Artificial intelligence is moving into decisions that directly affect people’s lives, and the Federal Constitution sets clear limits that algorithms cannot ignore.
The Principle of Legality: No One Can Be Required to Do or Refrain From Doing Anything
The principle of legality is one of the cornerstones of the Democratic Rule of Law. It limits both the power of the state and the dealings between private parties, providing predictability and legal certainty.
Regulating Social Scoring Systems
Social scoring systems already evaluate millions of Brazilians in decisions about credit, employment, and public services, but regulation of the practice is still in its infancy in the country.
2026 Elections Guide: Dates, Offices and the Complete Election Calendar
More than 155 million Brazilians will head to the polls in 2026 to choose a president, governors, senators and deputies, with the first round set for October 4.
Political Rights: Voting, Eligibility and Ineligibility
Political rights guarantee citizens a role in public life, whether by voting or by running for elected office. Knowing the rules on eligibility and ineligibility helps you avoid surprises when you register as a candidate.
Neurorights and Brain-Computer Interfaces
Brain-computer interfaces are advancing rapidly, and the law must keep pace to protect citizens’ mental privacy, cognitive identity, and freedom of thought.
Habeas Corpus: What It Is For and Who Can File It
Habeas corpus is the constitutional guarantee that protects freedom of movement against unlawful arrest or the threat of coercion. Anyone can file it, and no lawyer is required.
Brazilian Nationality: Who Is Brazilian and How to Acquire It
Brazilian nationality is the legal bond that ties a person to the State. It is acquired originally, by birth, or derivatively, through naturalization, and it defines essential rights and duties toward the country.
AI and Democracy: The Risks of Information Manipulation
Artificial intelligence has transformed the way we consume information, but it has also created powerful tools of manipulation that threaten the pillars of modern democracy.
Right to Privacy and Data Protection Under the Brazilian Constitution (CF/88)
Privacy and personal data protection now have explicit constitutional status, reinforcing guarantees already set out in Article 5. In an age of data leaks and digital monitoring, knowing these rules has become a matter of legal survival.
Digital Sovereignty and AI: Technological Dependence
Brazil’s growing reliance on artificial intelligence systems built by foreign companies puts its digital sovereignty at risk and calls for urgent regulatory responses.
AI in Public Surveillance: Facial Recognition and Privacy
The use of facial recognition by public agencies is advancing rapidly in Brazil, raising urgent questions about privacy, algorithmic discrimination, and the constitutional limits of state surveillance.
Legislative Authority: Who Can Make Laws on What
Legislative authority divides the task of making laws among the Union (the federal government), the states, the Federal District, and the municipalities. Understanding this division prevents conflicts between laws and helps identify who is responsible for regulating each subject.
Unconstitutional State of Affairs: When Brazil’s Supreme Court Declares That a System Violates the Constitution
In ruling on the case dealing with the prison crisis, the Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF, Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court) recognized that the Brazilian penitentiary system is in a state of massive, persistent violation of fundamental rights, which it labeled an “unconstitutional state of affairs.” The doctrine, imported from Colombia’s Constitutional Court, authorizes the judiciary to order structural measures when the collapse of a public policy affects thousands of people and none of the branches of government corrects the situation on its own.
Entrenched Clauses (Cláusulas Pétreas): What Cannot Be Changed in the Constitution
Entrenched clauses (cláusulas pétreas) are the untouchable core of the Constitution, protected against any attempt to change them by amendment. They shield the pillars of Brazilian democracy and give the system stability.
