We are proud to share that our Counsel, Cláudia Trindade, has just had her doctoral thesis published.
In her work, “A livre convicção do juiz e a fundamentação da decisão sobre a matéria de facto no direito civil”, Cláudia explores some central questions in civil procedure: how judges form their conviction on the facts, how they justify it, and what limits and standards shape this process.
A remarkable contribution with clear impact for practitioners and scholars alike.
Many congratulations, Cláudia!
As the author notes:
“This dissertation rejects psychological conceptions regarding the judge’s competence to determine whether factual assertions are to be qualified as true or false for the purposes of a given case, and regarding the reasoning of that determination. Instead, it undertakes a purely normative and epistemological analysis of these issues.
It develops a flexible system of criteria for assessing the sufficiency of the reasoning of judicial determinations classifying factual assertions as true or false in procedural contexts. This system is intended to guide judges in identifying the elements that must be included in the reasoning of a decision so that it is understandable to its recipients and enables both self-control and external control of the judge’s adherence to the law, of judicial independence, and of the decision’s impact on concrete legal spheres.
Having identified the criteria on which sufficient reasoning depends, the dissertation also seeks to clarify the legal consequences of a lack of reasoning or of insufficient reasoning. Making these aspects explicit is essential to achieving legal certainty and predictability in respect of evidentiary decisions.”
