LANGUAGE AS A TOOL FOR INCLUSION AND PROTECTION OF VULNERABLE GROUPS IN THE BRAZILIAN LEGAL CONTEXT

Abstract

This article investigates the role of language as an instrument for the inclusion and protection of vulnerable groups within the Brazilian legal context. It starts from the understanding that legal language, by adopting excessively technical and hermetic forms, can constitute a barrier to access to justice, restricting the understanding and participation of historically marginalized subjects. Based on interdisciplinary theoretical frameworks, as well as authors of legal hermeneutics, the study demonstrates that language in law is not neutral, but an expression of symbolic power, capable of including or excluding according to its forms of use. The research, of a qualitative and bibliographic-documentary nature, analyzes institutional and normative policies that seek to promote communicational accessibility and the democratization of legal discourse, such as Recommendation No. 144/2023 of the National Council of Justice (CNJ) and the Brazilian Law for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (Law No. 13.146/2015). Furthermore, it examines experiences of public defenders' offices and courts that have incorporated simple and inclusive language practices, such as the use of social names, the elimination of discriminatory terms, and the guarantee of accessible communication. The study also considers the recent Law No. 15.263/2025, which establishes the National Policy on Plain Language in the public sphere. It concludes that the adoption of clear, inclusive, and humanized legal language is an essential condition for the realization of human dignity, for the reduction of structural inequalities, and for democratic strengthening, transforming language into a true tool for social justice.