Academic Master's Degree
The Master’s Program in Law and Development of DIREITO SP, approved by CAPES in December 2007, was designed to provide researchers and legal practitioners with an excellent academic experience in Brazil. It is designed to train a new generation of scholars and professionals capable of responding to the challenges of a rapidly changing society that is currently undergoing international integration. These professionals would thus be filled with legal expertise to assist their development.
Taught by professors with international experience, working on a full-time basis, the Master’s Program does not only offer a course to students, but it also creates an opportunity for students to integrate with a vibrant community of teaching and research, which has focused on renewing the Brazilian legal mindset by meeting the demands of an ever complex world into which Brazil has been gradually integrating.
Law and Development
For decades, the issue of development has been on the agenda of governments, international agencies, companies and scholars. In Brazil, especially during Vargas’ administration, the theme of national development, more sharply from the Vargas government, captured drew the attention of a number of generations of scholars, public figures, as well as specific sectors of the Brazilian business community. In the past, the concept of development was found to be strictly associated with the idea of economic growth. In the past decade, the imperatives of environmental sustainability, increased access to the markets, social responsibility, human rights, rule of law and democracy were incorporated into the concept of development.
In this sense, the very relationship of law with the issue of development has changed dramatically. Firstly, it was realized that the quality of the institutions of the rule of law is directly associated with sustainable development. Countries with strong judicial branches, with clear rules and honest and efficient law enforcement agencies, have enormous comparative advantages. More than that, Law has proven an indispensable tool to make sure that this growth may affect positively the social balance of a given society. Internationally, new institutions and regulations have emerged to underpin the global economy. Law has become a field of knowledge that is central to all those wishing to work with or reflect on development in a broader sense.