Oscar Vilhena Vieira

Oscar Vilhena Vieira is a founding professor and currently the Dean of the FGV São Paulo Law School (FGV Direito SP), where he teaches Constitutional Law, Human Rights, and Law and Development. He holds a law degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, an LL.M. from Columbia University in New York, a master’s and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of São Paulo, and a postdoctoral degree from the Centre for Brazilian Studies at St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford, where he was awarded the Sérgio Vieira de Mello scholarship. He was a Global Fellow at the Brazil Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Vieira previously served as a State Prosecutor in São Paulo, Executive Director of the United Nations Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime (ILANUD), Executive Secretary of the Teotônio Vilela Commission for Human Rights, and Legal Advisor to the Center for the Study of Violence at the University of São Paulo. He has served as a board member of the Open Society Foundation (Human Rights and Latin America), Instituto Ethos, Fair Trials, and the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT). He is a founding member and former executive director of Conectas Human Rights, the Instituto Pro Bono, and the Global League of Law Schools (LSGL). He is also founding member and advisor of the Arns Commission for Human Rights and the General Coordinator of FGV’s multidisciplinary team in the evaluation of the socio-environmental impacts in Rio-Doce and Brumadinho. Oscar Vilhena Vieira has written several books and academic articles. Among his most recent works are: Battle of Powers: Brazil: from democratic transition to constitutional resilience; Teoria Constitucional Brasileira: 200 anos de disputas; A Constituição e sua reserva de justiça; Estado de direito e populismo autoritário: erosão e resistência institucional no Brasil (2018-22); The unstoppable force, the immovable object: challenges for structuring a cosmopolitan legal education in Brazil; Transformative constitutions as a tool for social development; Ambitious constitutions: prominent courts. Oscar Vilhena Vieira is a columnist for the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, an active pro bono lawyer in public interest cases, and actively engaged in the debate in defense of democracy under the Rule of Law.