Transatlantic Legal Networks

Abstract

This article investigates the construction of the authority of jurist Boris Mirkine- Guetzévitch in the Brazilian political and legal fields between 1927 and 1934. Through the reading of the archives of the Rockefeller Foundation, it shows how Mirkine-Guetzévitch, inspired by the desire to preserve democracy and human rights, established key transnational centers for the diffusion of legal knowledge—the International Institute of Public Law (1927) and the Parisian Institute of Comparative Law (1931)—where his ideas were well received. It then argues, through the reading of the contemporary Brazilian press, that these organizations were instrumental in sustaining—or were actively employed to sustain—his contacts with Brazilian personalities starting from 1932. By analyzing the 1933–1934 Annals of the Brazilian National Constituent Assembly, this article concludes that this effort was successful, and that Mirkine-Guetzévitch became a key reference for Brazilian liberal politicians during the debates leading to the promulgation of the 1934 Constitution.