Between senzalas and basements:

the civil liability of the state for damage to the life project of the black population in the light of Superior Justice Tribunal’ court docket 647

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the civil liability of the Brazilian State for the acts of torture practiced during the period of slavery in the light of court docket 647 of the Superior Court of Justice and the damage to the life project caused in the black population, which has difficulty in accessing fundamental rights at the moment. A bibliographic survey was carried out on the subject, as well as an analysis of judicial decisions issued within the scope of the Citizenship Court. From this point, the judicial decisions that make up the construction of the foundations of the summed up understanding were chosen: the imprescriptibility of the damage, protection of the dignity of the human person and the existence of violation of fundamental rights. The historical circumstances that explain the violence to the human condition during the Brazilian slave period were addressed. Since then, the discriminatory practices of the past have meant that violence continues to be part of the Brazilian social fabric and constitutes damage to the life project in the face of statistics on access to human rights for blacks in the country. From this theoretical and empirical survey obtained, it was revealed that the effects resulting from slavery are also subject to reparatory protection, either through: right to memory, right to reparation, right to justice and right to compensation. The research also revealed the need to build a National Slavery Commission, since the crimes committed during this historical period were never effectively repaired throughout the national historical process.