Political activity of brazilian adjudication: some dimensions

Since de advent of what is known as new constitucionalism, jurists have faced a difficult task in order to overcome some failures of normative positivism. In this context, the judiciary has played a renewed role, which can be justified on grounds of legal theory and on institutional reasons. However, this new role has led legal philosophers to several concerns, such as the relationship between law and ethics. On one hand, Critical Legal Studies points out that the judge always acts informed by his own convictions. On the other hand, according to R. Forst (within another context, but also relevant here), this is not really a problem, because a rule can be provided with ethics, but not ethically justified. This openness of law to moral makes it difficult for the interpretative judicial discourse to be taken as claimed by K. Günther: as a discourse of application only, and not of justification. All these controversies, however, lead to a common statement: the constitutional adjudication has been exercising a different activity. Some legal systems allows such activity legitimacy in some extent, like Brazilian’s, for example, which i) states a very broad adjudication, ii) provides an extensive catalog of basic rights, and iii) contains several procedural mechanisms for their protection. This empowers the adjudication to exercise what can be called a political activity. Therefore, a series of moral issues which were once exclusive to the political arena have been brought to the judiciary, such as: gay marriage, abortion, affirmative action, religious freedom, federation, separation of powers, distribution of scarce resources. In a democracy, these moral questions ought to be mainly decided through deliberation outside the judiciary, but not always this is what happens. The paper discusses these issues, showing also how the Brazilian Supreme Court has dealt - technically, or not - with this relationship between law and justice in a complex and pluralist society

Bleeding Words: Louise Bourgeois' and José Leonilson's Love Images

As one tries to grasp love and its images within José Leonilson's production, a multiplicity of aspects and meanings are seen that also relate to Louise Bourgeois's oeuvre in regard to the interest in human relations. Through a comparative approach to both artists' poetics, an understanding is created that love is not a simplistic action and all the words read in or applied to their visual discourse must be considered within a wide range of love in visual and literary images. Keywords: literature and visual arts / love / creativity / Bourgeois, Louise / Leonilson, José / word and image

Small Dollar Loans, Big Problems: How States Protect Consumers From Abuses and How the Federal Government Can Help

Across America, drivers pass twice as many payday loan storefronts as Starbucks coffee shops.2 In twenty-nine states, there are more payday lender stores than McDonald’s restaurants.3 Numerous research studies warn of the dangers associated with payday loans, including significantly higher rates of bankruptcies, evictions, utility shut-offs, and involuntary bank account closures.4 Many states have recognized the dangers posed by payday and other types of small-dollar loans with predatory features, prompting them to adopt laws to combat the abusive nature of these loans. These laws, however, offer consumers varying degrees of protection. Historically, states have used their police powers to protect consumers from predatory lending. This Article discusses the extent to which each state’s current laws protect consumers from lending abuses associated with four common small-dollar loans: payday loans, auto-title loans, six-month installment loans, and one-year installment loans.5 Specifically, this Article highlights the findings from the 2010 Small Dollar Loan Products Scorecard (Scorecard), which updated the original 2008 Scorecard. 6 Both the 2008 and 2010 Scorecard grade state laws based on the maximum annual percentage rate (APR) they allow for the four typical small-dollar loan products listed above. Since the 2008 Scorecard, there has been significant state legislative activity across the country related to small-dollar loans. Only a handful of states, however, have enacted new measures that adequately protect consumers. This Article provides policy recommendations to guide ongoing reform efforts. The Article highlights three key points. First, states should continue their longstanding good fight on behalf of American families against abusive, small dollar lending, but they need help. Congress and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which President Obama established when he signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act into law on July 21, 2010, should join the battle.7 Second, the states and Congress should focus their reform efforts on enacting an across-the-board usury cap of 36% APR on all small-dollar loans. Third, the states, CFPB, and Congress should impose several restrictions on high-cost (over 36% APR), small-dollar lending to help curb its abusive nature. In this Article, Part II describes the methodology used by the 2010 Scorecard. Part III reports the major changes that have occurred in the two years since the Scorecard’s original 2008 publication. Finally, Part IV proposes several policy recommendations, at the state and federal level, with the focus in the latter category on opportunities for action by the newly created CFPB

READING PAINTINGS: THE INSCRIPTIONS IN THE PAINTED IN MEXICO, 1700-1790: PINXIT MEXICI EXHIBITION ANALYZED THROUGH THE LENS OF MIECZYSŁAW WALLIS

The acclaimed 2017-2018 Painted in Mexico, 1700-1790: Pinxit Mexici Exhibition and its corresponding catalogue reintroduced the world to the paintings of eighteenth-century Mexico. Presented alongside each other, the over one hundred paintings in the collection are frequently distinguished by one element: text. This paper takes into account this unique element and examines the applicability of the typology outlined by art historian Mieczsław Wallis in “Inscriptions in Paintings,” a seminal article on the topic of painting inscriptions. Wallis defines four categories of painting inscription based on function: identification, statement, invocation, and artist statement. Analysis of the 95 inscribed paintings in the catalogue reveals that over 52% of inscriptions functioned as forms of identification, over 8% functioned as statements, over 2% functioned as invocations, and over 35% functioned as artist statements. Three conclusions can be drawn from this research: first, Wallis’ typology generally applies; second, the outliers which the typology struggles to categorize indicate refinements can be made; and third, a fifth category could be added to class didactic statements

THE QUALITY OF COMMERCIAL SERVICES – A BAROMETER OF THE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF THE DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL MEMBERS

The enterprises' offensive in various markets is focused on a. package of "services" that integrates - more than ever before -the observance of terms and vivid contacts between enterprises and customers. Metaphorically, we could say that services renderecommercial service, support logistics, quality of commercial services.