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Research Areas

Justice, Freedom and Law

Coordinator: Hugo Cunha Lança
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We learn from Ulpian that Justice is the constant and perpetual will to give each one their due, with the jurist being more than a priest, but a servant of Justice. Given this premise, the primary concern of the interpreter of the Law must be the defense of those most in need of legal protection.

Therefore, this is a research line in Law, encompassing historical and philosophical dimensions, while also remaining open to other fields of knowledge (sociology, anthropology, political science...) necessary for a deep understanding and comprehension of the targeted realities.

 

Thus, under this topic, studies are called upon to interpret these themes from a multiplicity of perspectives [as if it were a cubist canvas], notably through the lens of Criminal Law, Family Law, Procedural Law, Constitutional Law, History of Law, Law of Succession, Labor Law, Sociology and Philosophy of Law, among others.

Regarding the concept of Freedom, we must take as a premise its axiological value, observing it in its comprehensive omniscience, in constant evolution with reality and new threats, as well as reflecting on freedom as a value of public law, especially its constitutional protection, in dialogue with the contemporary challenges of democracy.

Crucial to the development of this line is the imperative for the Jurist to shed the arrogance of the jurist and summon other fields of knowledge (sociology, psychology, medicine, biology, etc.) to dialogue and pave paths that individually lead to failure. Not in the perspective of interdisciplinarity (which often makes us mistake the cloud for Juno), but in a logic of multidisciplinarity, building solutions in parity with other experiences and perspectives.

Within this outlined perimeter, issues of legitimacy and efficiency of legislative interventions arise, as well as the combination of various levels of regulation, including that of individual autonomy. On the other hand, there is a wide range of historical-legal and jurisprudential research topics.

Examples of possible research topics/areas in this line include:

  • Medically Assisted Procreation;
  • Protection of children and adolescents;
  • Contractual freedom: traditional contractual types and new contractual typologies;
  • Economic initiative freedom and its limits;
  • Constitutional freedoms and their current threats;
  • Access to courts and alternative dispute resolution methods;
  • New challenges related to evidence;
  • Labor relations and digitalization;
  • Human personality;
  • Freedom of expression;
  • Trade union freedom and individual freedom;
  • History of Portuguese Labor Law;
  • Threats to democracy.

Research Results:

ULP Law Review - special issue 2022 - https://revistas.ulusofona.pt/index.php/rfdulp/issue/view/811

Alberto Sá e Mello; Alexandra Vilela; Ana Isa Meireles;  Ana Loureiro; António Fernandes; António Inácio; António José Amado; Bruno Moura; Cátia Monteiro; Carlos Alberto Fraga; Carlos Poiares; Carolina Freitas Silva; Fábio Martins; Fernando Pinto Bronze; Flávio Roques; Francisco Amado Ferreira; Gustavo Rozeira; Hugo Cunha Lança; José de Faria Costa; Luís Cabral Moncada; Mara Rodrigues; Maria Cunha Louro; Marlene Mendes; Patrícia Barros; Paulo de Brito; Paulo Sargento; Rita Domingos; Rui Oliveira; Salomão Domingos; Sandra Feitor; Teresa Anjinho.