Optimizing access to justice in Brazil from the perspective of Herrera Flores’ critical theory of human rights

Abstract

The traditional conception of human rights reflects universal and abstract promises, often detached from practical reality, creating a gap between the theory and its application. According to Herrera Flores, human rights emerge as cultural products born out of struggles,  equiring a contextualized analysis to enable their effective  implementation. Among these rights, access to justice stands out as a fundamental pillar for ensuring others, and it should be conceived from a substantial perspective –  namely, as access to a fair legal order that delivers materially effective outcomes. We propose the adoption of
technological practices from Brazil’s Justiça 4.0 movement  as operational tools to materialize the human right of access to justice. In this study, a deductive methodology and indirect bibliographic review was employed. It  contributes to the debate on modernizing judicial services, fostering efficiency, reducing bureaucracy, and promoting social inclusion through public policies towards the digitally excluded.