The World Health Organization’s normative authority in Member States

An Empirical Study of the Brazilian Judicial Branch

Authors

Keywords:

World Health Organization, Normative Authority, Empirical Study

Abstract

The article aims to describe how Brazilian courts adopt World Health Organization’s (WHO) normative production domestically, conducing an empirical study on how the Superior Tribunal de Justiça and the Supremo Tribunal Federal implement the WHO’s norms, both hard and soft law. To identify whether the normative authority of the WHO has been referenced in a decision, it employs a methodology that identifies direct and precise references to WHO standards. The results are presented by courts, Judges, health issues, documents and the binding nature of WHO documents. In conclusion, the article highlights the limited use of WHO normative authority by Brazilian courts.

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Author Biography

Paula Wojcikiewicz Almeida, FGV Direito Rio

Professor of International Law at FGV Rio Law (since 2008). Director of the Centre for Global Law at FGV Rio Law. Director of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence on EU-Latin America Global Challenges, sponsored by the European Commission (2023-2026). Director of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence on EU-South America Global Governance (2019-2023). Associate Researcher at the Institute of International and European Law at the Sorbonne (IREDIES). Permanent Professor of the Post-Graduate Program of FGV Rio Law. Chair of the International Courts and Tribunals Interest Group of the Latin American Society of International Law. Doctorate with honors summa cum laude in International and European Law at the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. Masters of Law in Public International and European Law – Université Paris XI, Faculté Jean Monnet. Researcher at the Centre d’études et de recherche en droit international et relations internationales de l’Académie de droit international de La Haye (2010). Post-doctoral visiting scholar at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law (2014) and at the University of Oxford, Faculty of Law (2014). Visiting professor at the École de droit de la Sorbonne, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (2019). Visiting professor at the European Private Law Summer School at the Faculty of Law of the University of Salzburg (since 2017). Visiting professor at the International Studies Programme of the Master’s Degree in International and European Law at the Porto School of Law of Universidade Católica (since 2023). Director of Studies of the French-speaking section in the 6th edition of the Winter Courses on International Law, organized by the Hague Academy of International Law (2024).

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Published

2025-04-21

How to Cite

Castro, M., Wojcikiewicz Almeida, P., & da Silva Barcelos, N. (2025). The World Health Organization’s normative authority in Member States: An Empirical Study of the Brazilian Judicial Branch. Direito E Práxis, 16(3). Retrieved from https://www.e-publicacoes.uerj.br/revistaceaju/article/view/85946

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 3 (2025): REVISTA DIREITO E PRÁXIS

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Matheus Castro, Paula Wojcikiewicz Almeida, Natalia da Silva Barcelos (Autor/a)

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