INTERCULTURAL MEDIATION AS AN INSTRUMENT OF ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN THE AMAZON: INSTITUTIONAL LIMITS AND CHALLENGES

Abstract

This article centers on the analysis of intercultural and community mediation as an instrument of access to justice for indigenous peoples in the Amazon. The Amazon region is marked by a complex social cartography, vast territorial extension, geographic isolation, and socioeconomic barriers, factors that impose severe difficulties on the traditional forms of state jurisdictional provision. Given the overload of the Judiciary and the frequent inability of adjudicated decisions to grasp local realities and forms of knowledge, the study investigates the institutional limits and the potential of self-composition methods, with emphasis on transformative community mediation as a factor of social emancipation. The normative framework of the research is grounded in Article 5, item XXXV (the inafastability of jurisdiction) and Article 231 of the 1988 Federal Constitution, which recognizes indigenous social organization, customs, and traditions, in harmony with Article 8 of International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 169, which ensures respect for these peoples' own methods of conflict resolution. The central objective is to examine how the National Judicial Policy for the Adequate Treatment of Conflicts, established by National Council of Justice (CNJ) Resolution No. 125/2010, and the Mediation Act (Law No. 13,140/2015) can be harmonized within the context of legal pluralism. To this end, the practical experiences of implementing indigenous jurisdictions are used as a reference, such as the pioneering Maturuca Indigenous Conciliation and Mediation Center, located in the Raposa Serra do Sol Indigenous Land (RR). The proposed methodology is based on bibliographic and documentary research, with a qualitative and exploratory approach. As a hypothesis, it is concluded that intercultural mediation, by valuing orality, dialogue, and community protagonism, presents itself as a legitimate and adequate path to overcoming the vulnerability of indigenous peoples, thereby making justice effective in a manner adapted to the Amazonian reality.