THE LEGITIMACY OF THE JURY COURT IN CRIMINAL PROCEDURE AND POPULAR PARTICIPATION AS A MECHANISM FOR VALIDATING THE BRAZILIAN JUDICIARY

Abstract

The present article aimed to discuss democratic validation in Brazil, exposing the popular participation lack in the direct choice of Judiciary Power members, which fortifies the existence of mechanisms such as the Jury Court. In this regard, the study focuses on the special procedure, analyzing it as an instrument of democratic validation within the Judiciary, as well as the way popular participation occurs in the tribunal. Along this line, the text discusses aspects of the jury system that reinforce its political role, the principles that govern the procedure, and the existing inconsistencies that affect its credibility and the potential to achieve fair decisions through the process. Throughout the work, these characteristics are analyzed from the perspectives of various Brazilian jurists and Rousseau's concept of the social contract, with an emphasis on the constitutional establishment of the jury and its consequent legitimacy.