Critical legal studies and coherence in the decision-making process: the Brazilian case

Résumé

This article suggests that a critical approach as the CLS could have deeper and stronger impact on the transformation of reality if it embraced a concept of linguistic coherence on a basic level. It presents a general critique of Brazilian Courts decision-making process and a claim that in cases in which evaluative words and expressions are at stake, there is an implicit duty of using an extra step on the reasoning in order to translate those words and expressions into descriptive ones. That practice permits accountability and transparency of the use of power by judges and decision-makers in general.