THE METHODOLOGICAL AND EMANCIPATORY FUNCTION OF COMPARATIVE LAW IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBAL LEGAL HARMONIZATION

Abstract

This article aims to critically analyze Comparative Law in its historical, methodological and functional dimensions, highlighting its role in the understanding and transformation of contemporary legal systems. Initially, the evolution of Comparative Law is presented, from its remote origins in Antiquity to its consolidation as an autonomous scientific discipline, with an emphasis on academic institutionalization and the construction of its own epistemology. Next, the main comparative methods are examined, focusing on the distinction between macrocomparison and microcomparison, as well as the use of comparative grids and the functionalist method, which provide analytical rigor and systematization to comparative practice. Finally, the multiplicity of functions of Comparative Law is discussed, ranging from its legislative application to its cultural and emancipatory dimension, highlighting its relevance in legal harmonization, normative reception and the critical training of legal practitioners. The research, of a bibliographic and qualitative nature, is based on classic and contemporary authors such as Caio Mário da Silva Pereira, Dário Moura Vicente, Carlos Ferreira de Almeida and Weliton Carvalho. It is concluded that Comparative Law, by integrating technique, culture and criticism, constitutes an essential instrument for strengthening plural legal rationality and promoting more effective and contextually appropriate normative solutions.