Abstract
This paper presents the results of a documental analysis in reports, judicial decisions and academic research concerning the role of the judiciary power in the incarceration problem. It departs from the Latin American context to reveal the similarities between Brazilian prison conditions and many others in the continent. This scenario invites us to focus on the possibilities of mutual learning among our countries. In view of that, the paper systematizes and compares Supreme Court decisions from Colombia and Brazil that declares the “unconstitutional state of affairs” of their prison systems. And then discusses the limits of the Colombian decision and what we can learn from this experience to rethink about ways to deal with the prison problem in Brazil. To expand this analysis to the lower courts, the last part of the article exams São Paulo Appeal Court (TJSP) decisions in public civil actions concerning the incarceration problem.
Keywords:
incarceration; separation of powers; unconstitutional state of affairs; public civil action; Latin America