RESTORATIVE JUSTICE IN THE COURTOF JUSTICE OF PERNAMBUCO: TENSIONS BETWEEN NEOLIBERAL RATIONALITY AND THE ETHICS OF NON-VIOLENCE

Abstract

In this work, one analyzes the institutionalization process of Restorative Justice within the Brazilian Judiciary, using the experience of the Court of Justice of Pernambuco (TJPE) as a case study. In the research, one problematizes how this paradigm, grounded in horizontality and dialogue, is incorporated into a historically hierarchical structure permeated by neoliberal management rationality, through which efficiency and procedural speed are sought. The overall objective of the study is to analyze the tensions between the ethical-political potential of non-violence in Restorative Justice and the managerial imperatives of judicial reform. Methodologically, this is a qualitative research study in which it is combined a literature review—anchored in the theories of René Girard, Norbert Elias, and Judith Butler on violence and culture—with the documentary analysis of regulations from the National Council of Justice (CNJ) and local administrative acts of the TJPE. An empirical mapping of institutional news disseminated by the Court throughout 2025 was also carried out, along with an examination of data from the CNJ's National Mapping. The results indicate that Restorative Justice in the TJPE (Court of Justice of Pernambuco) presents a hybrid and technically robust management model, with dedicated teams, but faces expansion bottlenecks due to centralization and the absence of broad facilitator registries. The discursive analysis reveals that the practice operates as a pharmako, oscillating between genuine citizen emancipation and instrumentalization for the management of social conflict. It is concluded that the institutionalization of Restorative Justice in the TJPE is situated in a border territory, requiring constant critical vigilance so that the Peacebuilding Circles effectively function as devices of active non-violence and "emergency brakes" against dehumanization, and not merely as tools of bureaucratic efficiency.