On December 21, the Brazilian Office of the Attorney General appointed the people who will join its Democracy Observatory Board. Among those chosen is Djamila Ribeiro. In all, there are six representatives from civil society and two from the federal institution. The term of office will be two years and may be extended for an equal period.

In addition to the Brazilian philosopher and writer, the civil society representatives appointed were the lawyers – and university professors – Georghio Alessandro Tomelin, Mauro de Azevedo Menezes, Martônio Mont’Alverne Barreto Lima; the former senator and former minister in the Dilma government, Katia Abreu; and the president of the Museum of Applied Arts Foundation, Paula Macedo Weiss.

From the AGU, Paulo Ronaldo Ceo de Carvalho, federal prosecutor and deputy to the Federal Attorney General, and João Carlos Souto, director of the AGU Higher School and professor of Constitutional Law, were chosen.

About the Democracy Observatory Council

According to the Office of the Attorney General website, the “Democracy Observatory Council will produce studies, debates and academic publications aimed at strengthening democracy. The body is chaired by jurist and retired Supreme Court Justice Ricardo Lewandowski. In addition to the management board, the Observatory will have an executive secretariat and two commissions, one for empirical research – responsible for organizing study projects – and the other for jurimetry, aimed at analyzing data and court decisions on the subject. The Superior School of the AGU will provide technical and administrative support”.

The website also explains that the Council will work on three thematic axes, which will guide the Observatory’s activities. They are: participatory democracy and strengthening democratic institutions; separation of powers and constitutional democracy; and challenges facing contemporary democracies, the right to information and freedom of expression.

*With information from the Office of the Attorney General website