Teresa Sales holds a master's degree and is a doctoral candidate in the Postgraduate Program in Constitutional Law at IDP, in addition to being a professor and judge's advisor. In 2021, she published a book, the result of her master's thesis, which was awarded funding by the 1st Call for Proposals of the Incentive Program for Publication in Books and Collections – ProLiC.
In the conversation, she told us a bit about her work, shared the challenges of legal research, and offered important tips for those who wish to conduct academic work and submit it to ProLiC.
Check out the full interview below:
What is the main contribution of the work, in relation to the subject matter?
The idea of addressing mechanisms for pluralizing debates is, in itself, one of the greatest contributions to the community, given that little is said about it and the legislation is still very superficial on the subject.
Therefore, I believe that writing about the subject, conducting case studies, and bringing these issues to light make the work relevant and spark curiosity to broaden discussions about how our legislation needs to, in addition to guaranteeing democratic mechanisms, monitor the functioning of these instruments.
How did you approach writing the academic paper?
I always say that writing an academic paper is inherently difficult and requires a lot of organization. I always balanced my master's degree with other jobs, and it was like that for two years: working during the day and writing at night.
I would set aside 3/4 of an hour a day to read and take notes on the texts, and the following week I would write summaries and texts to be included in the dissertation. In the last few months, the texts were ready; I just needed to organize them into chapters, which facilitated the progress and fluency of the writing.
What difficulties were encountered during the research?
The pandemic, without a doubt! The idea behind my job was to go to the Court of Justice and handle the physical case files, but that became impossible in 2020.
Therefore, I had to adapt the field research and work only with incidents that were already available electronically. This reduced the workload somewhat, but I was able to delve deeper into the discussions within the few cases I analyzed and obtained good results.
At the end of this work, what questions remain regarding this topic?
I finished my dissertation exactly as I finished my undergraduate thesis: with even more questions! I always say that research doesn't end there; it reverberates in other areas and can always continue.
Therefore, I continue to question how mechanisms for broadening debates, such as amicus curiae briefs, can be publicized and their impact maximized by the Judiciary.
What was it like conducting the field research?
I'm very much a hands-on person; I like to see how the things learned in the classroom work in everyday life. So, I think that's the biggest difference between my current job as a public servant and the job I've been doing as a researcher for a while now.
Research encourages you to step out of your comfort zone and pursue the instrumentalization of the law, to see how the application of that legal instrument works, and that was a differentiating factor in my work.
I understand the theoretical part and the construction of the positive aspects of these democratic instruments in the (2015 Code of Civil Procedure), but I can also talk about the practical applications and how they are actually understood by legal professionals in the processes throughout the 5 years of the CPC/2015's validity.
How did the institution help you develop this type of research?
IDP has always been a great foundation for everything I've planned to do. I had excellent professors, participated in numerous events related to my research topics, and always received support from the staff when I needed it, in addition to having an outstanding library.
Discussions about research methodology have always been very enlightening regarding the types of research to be developed within the scope of postgraduate studies, so I felt encouraged from the beginning of my master's program to undertake something more in-depth and challenging.
What readings would you recommend for those interested in legal research?
I always recommend the book "Don't Talk About the Code of Hammurabi" to everyone. I read it in my first Methodology classes and still share it today because it talks a lot about research in graduate school and how it should be done intelligently, moving away from textbook legalese and actually bringing contributions and new perspectives to society.
What advice would you give to someone in graduate school?
Study HARD! Reading is the beginning of any research, work, or article. It's how you familiarize yourself with the topic and how you acquire a foundation to support your ideas.
Furthermore, participating in research groups, writing articles during classes to use as chapters in your dissertation/thesis, and carefully choosing the subjects you will take are good pieces of advice I received, and I think it's important to pass them on.
ProLIC is now open for registration!
“ Which voice to listen to? An analysis of Haberle's open society theory and the role of the amicus curiae based on the 2015 Code of Civil Procedure ” is his first book, published by Saraiva, and can be purchased through this link.
The second edition of ProLiC is now accepting submissions from IDP students, alumni, and professors who wish to have their work published as books. More information about the call for submissions can be found here or by contacting julio.paschoal@idp.edu.br.