A tradição inquisitorial brasileira

Abstract

The paper addresses the historical process that has influenced and influences the Brazilian criminal procedure. Glimpsed from the perspective of the Tribunal of the Inquisition, the current Criminal Procedure still has direct relation with procedures and grounds that are apparently not consistent with the intelligence of a democratic state. Through analysis of the situation of Jews in Spain and Portugal it is clear that the process of social transformation begins remotely with the emergence of a new class (new Christians), which had been constantly persecuted and deprived of rights, through processes that did not allow the right of defense. The Inquisition proved to be an effective mechanism of social control and the perpetuation of the system of exercising power. The State and the Catholic Church made use of the Inquisition basing their actions on principles such as defense of the Catholic faith and the divine will. The presence of the Holy Office in Brazil through the "Visitations" and the expedients used by the Inquisition eroded social solidarity through the construction of a reigning insecurity that was the foundation for the institute's secret. The ritual procedure, the defendant's situation and the guilt (criminal) are described and analyzed by always keeping focus on the social impact and the rationale outlined by the Church. Many of these concepts and ideologies are still present in our social ideals and our legal system. Confession, whistleblower awards, search for "real truth" and secrecy of the police investigation are devices that report in no more logical to accept the prism of a design procedure which stipulates respect for the Dignity of the Human Person. However, the Brazilian inquisitorial tradition proves to be very strong and is based in a unique way to understand the legal equality of course making anachronistic concepts seem reasonable to society, to operators and thinkers of the right.