A EXPANSÃO DO GARANTISMO JURÍDICO PARA ALÉM DA ESPÉCIE HUMANA: FUNDAMENTOS CONSTITUCIONAIS DO GARANTISMO ANIMAL

Abstract

This article examines the possibility of expanding the theory of legal garantism beyond the human species, investigating its constitutional foundations and its implications for the legal protection of nonhuman animals. The study addresses the theoretical problem related to the insufficiency of traditional approaches in environmental law and animal law to structure a systematic model of legal guarantees aimed at protecting the fundamental interests of animals. The research aims to assess whether the core principles of garantism—particularly the limitation of power and the requirement of institutional guarantees for the effective protection of rights—can provide conceptual foundations for the development of a theoretical paradigm referred to as Animal Garantism. The study adopts a hypothetical-deductive method, with a qualitative and theoretical-conceptual approach, based on an interdisciplinary bibliographic review that articulates contributions from legal theory, contemporary constitutionalism, moral philosophy, and the emerging field of animal law. The analysis examines the development of legal garantism, discusses the gradual overcoming of legal anthropocentrism, and evaluates the constitutional interpretation of the prohibition of cruelty against animals within the Brazilian legal system. The study concludes that the expansion of the garantist paradigm supports the recognition of legal guarantees aimed at protecting the fundamental interests of sentient animals, contributing to the development of a normative framework capable of integrating fundamental rights, environmental protection, and interspecies justice within contemporary constitutionalism.