THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION AS A TOOL FOR ACCESS TO JUSTICE: AN ANALYSIS OF THE OMBUDSMAN OFFICE OF THE JUDICIARY OF PERNAMBUCO

Abstract

In this research, one investigates the role of the Ombudsman’s Office of the Court of Justice of Pernambuco (TJPE) in upholding the right to information as a means of access to justice and promotion of public transparency. The central question is: Can the TJPE Ombudsman’s Office foster the right to information? Using content analysis methods, the general objective is to examine the role of the Ombudsman’s Office as a mediation channel between citizens and public administration, with a focus on implementing the Access to Information Law (Law No. 12.527/2011). And the specific objectives are: a) to understand the relation between the right to information and the access to justice, highlighting how the democratization of information contributes to the realization of fundamental rights; b) discuss about the role of Ombudsman’s Offices as instruments of active listening and mediation before the challenges posed by disinformation and authoritarian legacies, contributing to more transparent and democratic public management; and c) to reflect about how the TJPE Ombudsman’s Office has acted in relation to the right to information, based on documentary analysis of public submissions and compliance efforts under the Access to Information Law. The research follows a qualitative approach, drawing on textual and documentary analysis of public submissions from the first half of 2020. The research involved the stages of screening, categorization, and critical reading of institutional documents, guided by the principles of documentary analysis. The findings suggest that, while the Ombudsman’s Office plays an important role in advancing participatory democracy, its effectiveness is still limited by structural barriers and needs ongoing improvement to ensure full access to information and justice.