Brazilian environmental law and Federal Supreme Court decisions in the crisis context of the Democratic State of Law

Abstract

The effectiveness of Environmental Law is one of the great challenges in the context of the crisis of the Democratic States of Law. It is essential to establish limits in the relationship between human beings and nature to guarantee the survival and quality of life of all living beings, carried out through legal norms established from the Federal Constitution of 1988, in Brazil. This article aims to identify possible advances that occur in the processes of production of legal norms and in the application of environmental law, with reference to decisions issued by the Federal Supreme Court - STF. It starts from two premises: the importance of standardization of environmental law and the need to enforce positive norms. The crisis of democracies is, in this sense, a relevant context to be considered. It is necessary to understand the functioning and disputes within States and institutions as a way to advance in the regulation of environmental issues and in guaranteeing their compliance. Through a bibliographical research on the crisis of modern democracies and the analysis of decisions handed down by the STF, some challenges generated for the effectiveness of the norms of environmental law are identified, noting that advances have occurred, albeit in an incipient way.