Do we deliberate? : if so, how?

Abstract

Academic studies usually present the points of view of their authors. In the specific field of deliberation in constitutional and supreme courts, although the dynamic, quality and results of the deliberations are analysed from various points of view, that perspective almost always comes from outside the court. What judges think of their deliberative performance or what they think of the deliberative model in the court to which they belong is rarely known. This article aims to address this issue by presenting the thoughts of justices on a certain supreme court regarding the deliberations in which they participate. Its goal is thus not to formulate general hypotheses about deliberation in constitutional and supreme courts or even specific hypotheses about a particular court. It presents some of the results of a broad study on the deliberative practices of the Brazilian Supreme Court. This research was based on interviews with the justices of the Court as well as other sources. These interviews sought to understand what the Supreme Court justices think—or at least what they say they think—about the deliberative process in which they participate, especially their views on how the deliberation and judgement sessions are organized, as well as on the value of consensus and collegiality.