Part IV

This paper aims to pay tribute to the intellectual journey of Minister and Professor Celso Lafer by analyzing the interaction between democracy and constitutionalism over the past few centuries. The article addresses the main features of the democratic system from both a substantive and an instrumental perspective, without neglecting its specific elements. It then continues with a history of constitutionalism from the period of the French Revolution in 1789 to the present, identifying the texts that comprise current constitutional documents. The movement within modern doctrine that seeks to draw inspiration from the ideal of constitutionalism—even in contrast to the texts of the fundamental law, known as neo-constitutionalism—does not take into account the principle of legal certainty. Consequently, classical constitutionalism is considered the appropriate means for guaranteeing 20th-century democracy.

Keywords: democracy, constitution, constitutionalism, neo-constitutionalism, constitutional change, constitutional interpretation, human rights, citizenship