Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Faculty of Law

The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Faculty of Law (Portuguese: Faculdade de Direito da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)), also known as the National Faculty of Law (Portuguese: Faculdade Nacional de Direito), is a law school located in downtown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Founded in 1920, from the merger of two law schools created in the 1880s, it is the third oldest law school in Brazil, after the University of São Paulo Faculty of Law and the Federal University of Pernambuco Faculty of Law, both founded in 1827. In terms of enrollment, it is also the largest public law school in Brazil, with around three thousand students.

Among its alumni are some of the most distinguished legal scholars and public officials of Brazil, including some members of the Supreme Court, like Lafayette de Andrada (1945–1969), Assunção Galotti (1949–1974), Nélson Hungria (1951–1961), Nunes Leal (1960–1969), Cordeiro Guerra (1974–1986), Moreira Alves (1975–2003), and Marco Aurélio Mello (1990–present).

The Faculty is located in the Count of Arcos' Palace, in which the Brazilian Senate met from 1826 to 1924.

History

The National Faculty of Law of UFRJ is the result of the merger in 1920 of two private schools, the Free Faculty of Law and Social Sciences of Rio de Janeiro and the Free School of Law. Before that date, however, there was a long way designed by big names like Fernando Mendes de Almeida, who met in his office colleagues who dreamed of creating a private law school. With the establishment of the republic and the creation of a free educational system, Mendes de Almeida called on former supporters of the idea and, with new members, upheld the Free School of Law and Social Sciences of Rio de Janeiro, which eventually became the National Faculty of Law.

The creation of the National Faculty of Law in the first half of the 20th century through the merger of the colleges mentioned above represented an end to the monopoly of legal education, which until the late 19th century was concentrated on the axis Olinda-São Paulo. The founding of the National Faculty of Law contributed to the strengthening of the diversity of legal education in the country.

The National Faculty of Law, together with the Polytechnical School and the Medical School, was one of the colleges that gave origin to a new university, which was named the University of Brazil in 1945. The main facts during that period were the creation of the faculty's library, the launch of the magazine "A Época", the creation of the Literary Guild and the Law Journal, under the guidance and responsibility of a committee formed by Cândido de Oliveira Filho, Luiz Carpenter Raul Pederneiras, Virgílio de Sá Pereira, Gilberto Amado and Afrânio Peixoto.

In the 1930s, the National Faculty of Law experienced memorable public contests for remarkable teachers, such as Joaquim Pimenta (sociology). Also at this time arose the famous class of 1937, which formed intellectuals such as José Honorio Rodrigues and Evaristo de Moraes Filho, who became professor in Labor Law and Sociology with his thesis on Auguste Comte.

Only in the 1940s was the National Faculty of Law transferred to its current building, during a period marked by strong student mobilization (especially as resistance to the Estado Novo). Notable contests continued to be held, bringing young lawyers to the Chairs of the Faculty, such as San Tiago Dantas and Hélio Tornaghi.

The 1950s consolidated the reputation of the National Faculty of Law. In 1955, the inaugural class of San Tiago Dantas, entitled "Legal Education and the Brazilian crisis", attracted much attention. At that time, San Tiago exposed new guidelines for the legal education and criticized legal teaching methods of the time, defending the case system as opposed to the text system, and also arguing that an interdisciplinary approach to Law was more suitable to modern times.

In 1960, the Brazilian capital moved to Brasília, and the process of federalisation of higher education began, having the UFRJ as a part of it. With the coup of 1964, the National Faculty of Law faced some consequences, but the CACO – Centro Acadêmico Cândido de Oliveira (the faculty's students' union) fought against the military regime.

In the 1970s, the National Faculty of Law went through a deep crisis, characterized by the carrying out of only a few contests and the gradual reduction of the faculty staff. The 1980s were also marked by crises and obstacles in contests.

In the 1990s, there were some initiatives, such as curriculum changes, the rearrangement of departmental structure and the creation of a center for community outreach, including a Special Court, an office of the Ombudsman and a center for legal practice.

Since the end of 2009, following the election of a new directing board, the National Faculty of Law has been going through deep changes in academic and structural matters, that are to improve the school's quality and reputation to the highest levels in decades.

Notable alumni

Members of the Supreme Court

Arts

Scholars

Politics and diplomacy

Sports

External links

Coordinates: 22°54′25.65″S 43°11′26.09″W / 22.9071250°S 43.1905806°W