PUBLIC DEFENSE OFFICES, DEMOCRACY AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE IN LATIN AMERICA

Abstract

Access to Justice and Democracy are related themes, in this context the article, adapted from the first author's master's dissertation, deals with legal systems in Latin American democracies, the role attributed to Public Defender Office’s in the region in access to justice and the of structuring adopted by them. The work concludes that despite the same nomenclature, the institutions are different in scope of action, prerogatives, structuring and missions, highlighting the similarities and differences between the Public Defender Office’s of the countries that present the greatest demand in the region: Brazil, Chile, Peru and Uruguay. It’s concluded that, among the analyzed countries, the search for the public service of legal assistance only occupies, as a rule, the fourth position among the available options, regardless of the scope of action, territorial coverage or number of professionals available and that the highest incidence of resolution of conflicts takes place in self-compositions when possible. Also, as a rule, jurisdictions understand that the outcome of processes tends to be fair, justice slow, that the processes are not necessarily expensive and that financial issues are not pointed out as a difficulty in solving the problem.