Level: Master’s and Doctorate
Modality: In-person
MISSION
The Graduate Program (Master’s and Doctorate) in Law of Social and Labor Relations at UDF – Centro Universitário has as its mission to train researchers capable of discussing social relations through a reflective approach that integrates the spheres of labor relations and social rights. It aims to analyze interconnections and mutual influences comprehensively, sharing with society the knowledge and research outcomes developed in the areas of “Constitutionalism, Labor Law and Procedure” and “Social Human Rights, Social Security and the Work Environment.”
The Master’s and Doctorate programs at UDF – Centro Universitário stand out for being the only ones offered by a private higher education institution in Brazil in the field of concentration “Law of Social and Labor Relations.” They have a significant regional impact, as evidenced by the diverse origins of their students and alumni. These programs aim to provide high-quality education, to produce and disseminate scientific knowledge to train ethically responsible professionals and citizens with a collaborative, inclusive, creative, and innovative approach, capable of contributing to the social transformation of the country and the world.
VISION
The Graduate Program in Law of Social and Labor Relations aspires to be a regional, national, and international reference in research within its field of concentration, with a strong focus on academic, professional, and civic education, and recognized for its credibility and quality in society by disseminating knowledge with social responsibility.
VALUES
The Graduate Program in Law of Social and Labor Relations is guided by philosophical and methodological principles that seek to promote actions with societal impact through research and outreach projects aligned with its mission and objectives. It aims to contribute to the construction and reconstruction of knowledge and values that drive local, regional, and national development, while promoting inclusion and social well-being. The program always seeks to foster the professional and civic development of its students, providing them with wisdom and knowledge to make ethical decisions and act in accordance with values beneficial to society.
Setor de Apoio Acadêmico
Profa. Dra. Maria Cecilia de A. Monteiro Lemos
Prof. Dr. Mauricio Godinho Delgado
Profa. Dra. Maria Cecilia de A. Monteiro Lemos
Coordenação Adjunta
Prof. Dr. Mauricio Godinho Delgado
The Centro Universitário do Distrito Federal – UDF, part of the Cruzeiro do Sul Educational Group, had its Academic Master’s Program in Law of Social and Labor Relations approved on December 18, 2015. From that moment, it has made every effort to implement the high standards proposed in the Application for New Course Proposals (APCN), striving to establish an academic space where teaching, research, and outreach are a differential on a national level and within its area of concentration.
The first student selection process for the Master’s Program took place from March 10 to 12, 2016, and classes began on March 28, 2016. In its first CAPES four-year evaluation, in 2024, the program received a SCORE 4, having graduated 113 master’s students over six years.
The approval of the Doctorate Program is part of UDF’s broader strategy to strengthen graduate studies, research, scientific initiation, outreach, and internationalization—key institutional priorities.
The Master’s and Doctorate Programs are the first stricto sensu graduate programs at UDF – Centro Universitário and are part of a legacy of over half a century in which the institution has pursued a path of academic excellence and social recognition.
CAPES EVALUATION
In its first four-year evaluation, the Master’s Program in Law of Social and Labor Relations at UDF received a score of 4 from the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), a federal agency under the Brazilian Ministry of Education (MEC) responsible for overseeing and regulating graduate programs in Brazil. This score of 4, awarded in 2022, is the highest rating possible for a master’s-only program. It enabled the submission of a proposal (APCN) for the approval of a Doctorate program, which was granted on December 19, 2024.
This research line aims to study the specificities inherent to the legal understanding of labor relations, creating space for critical reflection in the domains of Substantive Labor Law and Procedural Law, always grounded in constitutionalism. The analysis of legal procedure is broadened to encompass both civil and labor procedural rules.
The analysis of both Substantive Labor Law and Procedural Law must be conducted under the lens of contemporary constitutionalism, emphasizing its relation to the protection of fundamental rights. These rights serve as a bridge to the discussion of social phenomena, as they embody societal values and serve an integrating function between the legal system and the primary demands of social groups. The “Constitutionalism, Labor Law, and Legal Procedure” research line includes discussions, projects, and studies that highlight the analysis of labor relations from a normative-dogmatic perspective, permeated by a strong axiological dimension and focused on the realization of fundamental labor rights—one of the core elements of contemporary constitutionalism.
This research line directs its focus toward the development of multidisciplinary discussions that combine legal and non-legal issues related to social and labor relations.
This line encompasses research that highlights the connections between social phenomena, power and domination relationships (viewed both politically and economically), and the legal elements associated with labor. It places emphasis on the protection of social human rights in various dimensions and perspectives, including social security and the environment in which labor activities are carried out. It maintains alignment with themes related to the recognition of these rights and the risk factors threatening their integrity. The line seeks to elucidate the historical, economic, and social foundations that justify the existence of social human rights and significantly influence the process of their realization, whether through social insurance systems or through the structuring of the work environment.
Curricular Structure of the Master’s Program in Law:
In order to achieve its objectives and ensure the necessary conditions for the academic training of master’s degree candidates, the Master’s Program in Law of Social and Labor Relations requires the completion of at least 37 academic credits, each equivalent to 15 class hours, distributed as follows:
a) Two (2) core mandatory courses, each worth 4 credits (60 class hours).
b) One (1) mandatory course within the chosen research line, also worth 4 credits (60 class hours). The student will enroll only in the mandatory course pertaining to their respective research line.
c) A minimum of three (3) elective courses, totaling at least 12 credits.
d) A minimum of 5 credits in Complementary Activities, which must include participation in research groups and the publication of an article in a Qualis-ranked journal. Students may also optionally engage in outreach projects, academic journal editorial activities, and guided teaching experiences.
e) Master’s Dissertation – 8 credits.
Curricular Structure of the Doctorate Program in Law:
To ensure the proper academic training of doctoral candidates, the Doctorate Program in Law of Social and Labor Relations requires the completion of at least 68 academic credits, each equivalent to 15 class hours, distributed as follows:
a) Two (2) core mandatory courses, totaling 6 credits (150 class hours).
b) One (1) mandatory course within the chosen research line, worth 4 credits (60 class hours). The student will enroll only in the mandatory course pertaining to their respective research line.
c) A minimum of four (4) elective courses, totaling at least 16 credits.
d) Ten (10) credits for academic activities, which are awarded for published articles in journals ranked between Qualis A1 and B4. Each article is credited according to the program’s complementary hours chart.
e) Four (4) credits awarded upon approval in the General Qualification Examination.
f) Twenty-four (24) credits for the Doctoral Thesis.
g) Four (4) credits awarded upon successful thesis defense.
This course centers on the concepts of constitutionalism and democracy. To better understand the relationship between these two foundational notions, the course provides a historical overview of the key phases and paradigms of constitutionalism, emphasizing Social Constitutionalism after World War I and the Humanist and Social concept of the Democratic Rule of Law that emerged after World War II. It highlights the centrality of the human person and the process of democratization and social inclusion, particularly in the development of a Constitutional Labor Law grounded in the 1988 Brazilian Constitution. The course explores the various conceptual stages of the relationship between democracy and constitutionalism—from their initial antagonism to their current symbiosis—focusing on how this evolution has influenced labor and social relations. It also examines challenges faced by Humanist and Social Constitutionalism in Brazil today, especially regarding constitutional labor rights and the broader field of labor justice.
CASTEL, Robert. The Metamorphoses of the Social Question: A Chronicle of Wage. 7th ed., Petrópolis: Vozes, 2008.
Critical discussion and refinement of the doctoral thesis project. Definition of the thesis topic, taking into account the originality, specificity, and relevance of the proposed theme. Revision of the thesis sections and subsections. Characterization of the methodological elements of the thesis project.
Analysis of methods and techniques in scientific and legal research, with emphasis on qualitative and quantitative approaches and legal argumentation techniques, aiming to support organized, critical, reflective, and constructive research practices. The course examines how to formulate a legal research problem and explores all fundamental steps in drafting a research project, a master’s dissertation, and scientific articles. It also addresses key reasoning tools for conducting various legal-technical works. Special emphasis is placed on legal writing and case study methodology, given their importance in developing doctrinal and scientific training in the field of Law. The course also presents and discusses teaching methods and techniques aimed at enhancing instructional practices.
Labor Law: its role in classical and contemporary capitalism. Employment relationship: its role in both contexts; conceptual framework and defining elements; dimensions of subordination; subordination and dependency: meanings, counterpoints, integration; the concept of parasubordination; new forms of labor: platform-based and similar digital labor systems. Labor Law: expansionism versus deconstruction – key aspects. Employment relationship: legal characterization; scope; types of normative regulation. Specific regulations introduced by the Labor Reform Law: intermittent work; stratified employee. Emerging phenomena or normative trends in Labor Law, including those stemming from the labor reform implemented between 2017 and 2022: a) quota systems in institutions and companies (apprentice workers; workers with disabilities or undergoing social security recovery; interns, etc.); b) telework; c) legal liability: dimensions and effects; d) outsourcing; e) workplace injuries: moral and aesthetic (non-pecuniary) damages and material damages.
Comparative Humanist and Social Constitutionalism: Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal; the United States; and Brazil. Relevant patterns of liberal, social, and humanist-social constitutional paradigms. Approaches to social issues and social rights within these paradigms. Distinctive principles. Key features of Labor Law and Social Security Law across these models. Paradigmatic jurisprudential interpretations.
TUSHNET, Mark. Weak Courts, Strong Rights – Judicial Review and Social Welfare Rights in Comparative Constitutional Law. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009.
Human rights must be understood through a historical, social, and political context—elements that are essential to their formation, conceptualization, and reinterpretation within the legal field. Their study requires an analysis of their universalizing dimension while acknowledging social particularities and multiculturalism. Economic, social, and cultural rights are discussed with a focus on labor relations, analyzing how human rights treaties are incorporated and enforced in Brazil, both in the vertical relationship between the State and the citizen and in the horizontal dimension.
DELGADO, Mauricio Godinho; DELGADO, Gabriela Neves. The ILO and Its Mission for Social Justice. In: Revista Pensamento Jurídico, São Paulo, Vol. 13, No. 2, Jul.–Dec. 2019.
The construction of the concept of equality. Social inequality in Brazil and worldwide. The role of international organizations in the fight against social inequality. Social human rights and inclusive public policies. The cost of rights and their economic and social return. The impact of inequalities on social risks within the so-called risk society. The empowerment and promotion of social, economic, and political inclusion of all individuals—regardless of age, gender, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion, economic status, or any other factor—within social and labor relations. Social inequalities and their impact on the weakening of Brazilian democracy.
SOUZA, Pedro H. G. Ferreira de Souza. A History of Inequality: Income Concentration Among the Rich in Brazil, 1926–2013. São Paulo: Hucitec, 2018.
The general section of this course introduces the basic concepts and categories of the American legal system, such as the Constitution, Bill of Rights, Separation of Powers, Federalism, Judicial Review, Precedents, and Dispute Resolution Mechanisms, in a comparative perspective with the Brazilian legal system. Beyond these fundamental concepts, the course also explores the methodology adopted by American law schools, introducing legal writing techniques and case briefing.
BALES, Richard A.; SECUNDA, Paul M.; HIRSCH, Jeffrey M. Understanding Employment Law. Carolina Academic Press: North Carolina, 2019.
The course will be taught based on the concept of access to justice, which, in international law and within the constitutional framework of various contemporary legal systems, represents the fundamental right to jurisdiction—an essential guarantee for the realization of fundamental rights and for the effective existence of all other material rights normatively guaranteed to all citizens and rights holders. The course then addresses the parallel development of Substantive Labor Law—both individual and collective—alongside social constitutionalism and the growing prevalence of the paradigm of the Democratic Rule of Law. This provides a clearer understanding of the importance of Labor Procedural Law as one of the first successful manifestations, both in Comparative Law and in Brazil, of so-called differentiated jurisdictional protection and as an expression, within labor law, of the instrumental function of procedure. After analyzing the origin, evolution, and main characteristics of Brazilian Labor Procedural Law prior to the profound changes introduced by the labor reform (Law No. 13.467/2017), as well as similar reforms in Chile, Portugal, and Spain oriented toward the flexibilization and deregulation of material and procedural labor rights, the course will examine the main principled, structural, and procedural changes brought by this reform and assess their compatibility—or lack thereof—with the constitutional principles of access to justice and effectiveness of judicial protection. Finally, it will analyze recent or ongoing reforms in Chile, Portugal, and Spain regarding the recovery of classical principles of Labor Law as a basis for future reforms in Brazil in the same direction.
COMOGLIO, Luigi Paolo. Ethics and Technique of the “Fair Trial”. Turin: G. Giappichelli Editore, 2004. Especially: Part I (“The Constitutional Dimension of the ‘Fair Trial’”), Chapter I (“Access to Courts and Constitutional Guarantees”), Chapter II (“Fundamental Guarantees of the ‘Fair Trial’”), and Part V (“The Need for Uniform Codification”), Chapter II (“Minimum Guarantees of Civil ‘Fair Trial’ in Ibero-Latin American Legal Systems”).
The prohibition of social regression is an implicit constitutional principle, which provides absolute protection in some areas and relative protection in others, and serves as a foundation for better understanding the social security relations and their constitutional subsystems. From this premise, the study of the concept of the Prohibition of Regression becomes essential, along with the analysis of the General Theory of Social Security Benefits and its Types: a complete and integrative vision of fundamental social insurance. The benefit models, in light of the Incidence Triggering Rule (Regra Matriz de Incidência – RMI), provide clear indications of each benefit’s specificity. A systematic quadrant analysis of social security benefit calculations, based on the jurisprudence of the Higher Courts and the National Panel for Standardization (Turma Nacional de Uniformização), is essential for understanding the course content due to the variability resulting from legislative changes and pension reforms. The broad procedural scope of benefits and the effectiveness of social rights, as well as the judicialization of benefits and services within the Social Security and Welfare system, becomes fertile ground for operationalizing these concepts.
SPECIAL APPEAL No. 1.599.097 – PE (2016/0107918-2). Social Security. Teacher Retirement. Fulfillment of Requirements after the Enactment of Law No. 9.876/99. Application of the Social Security Factor in the Calculation of the Initial Monthly Income – RMI of the Benefit.
The course begins with a general section dedicated to the historical analysis, foundations, and organizational models of collective labor relations, proceeding to the study of principles and sources of Collective Labor Law. In the specific section, it discusses the nature of union entities, addressing themes such as unicity, unity, plurality, representation, representativeness, and forms of union organization. Based on the debate around collective labor conflicts, the course explores judicial and extrajudicial resolution methods, emphasizing conciliatory approaches and the inherent possibilities within the normative power of the Labor Courts. It also examines collective bargaining and its social, political, and legal impacts as a model of normative self-regulation, along with the role of strikes in the self-defense of rights.
The context of public policies within human and social rights. The formation of Brazilian society and the role of public policies in the democratic rule of law. The link between the State, public policies, and social justice. Public policies: how they emerge, how they develop, and their general principles. Public and social policies in the Brazilian State – historical marks: slavery, populism, militarism, and the current scenario. Labor, employment, and union movements. Labor law and social inclusion.
VIANA, Márcio Túlio. Social Protection of the Worker in a Globalized World: Labor Law at the Dawn of the 21st Century. Revista LTR, São Paulo, vol. 63, no. 7, 1999.
Study of the development of social security policies in Brazil, including a comparative analysis with similar foreign systems. Discussion on the social security budget and the effectiveness of social rights, addressing social equity and financial and actuarial balance, in addition to constitutional systemic funding structures. The studies will be conceptually based on social relations and their conflicts, as well as the role of key actors in the construction of a reciprocal and permanent insurance system, protected against regression. Contemporary topics will be analyzed, such as solidarity in rural social security, scenarios of social risks, the influence of work incapacity on systemic social insurance, and the diversity of social security systems in Brazil and the challenges in harmonizing them.
Studies on the working environment must cover both normative aspects and the procedural and legal protections necessary for ensuring its effectiveness. Business activity has direct impacts on the quality of life of workers, but also affects the labor market, the environment, and the community. Therefore, it is essential to contextualize these direct effects to better understand environmental issues within labor relations. Given its connection to human dignity and to health and safety conditions, Labor Environmental Law falls within a constitutional perspective, which will be examined in conjunction with legal frameworks addressing both preventive measures and liability mechanisms.
This course begins with the observation that, over the past decades, a significant convergence has occurred between civil law and common law jurisdictions across the civilized world. Among other effects, this phenomenon has led to the consolidation of the so-called theory of precedents within Roman-Germanic systems like Brazil’s. This theory is grounded in the principles of legal certainty, predictability, coherence, and integrity in the jurisprudential interpretation of legal norms, as well as the guarantee of equal treatment in their application to all citizens. These goals are pursued through the increasing adoption of binding precedents—or stare decisis—in varying degrees. In Brazil, this development has been marked by the enactment of the 2015 Code of Civil Procedure and, in labor law, by the inclusion of Articles 896-B and 896-C in the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT) under Law No. 13.015/2014, which established a micro-system for the production of binding precedents to address excessive repetitive litigation and enhance the speed and effectiveness of judicial protection. To understand this new reality within labor jurisdiction, the course begins by examining the evolving role of the judiciary and the principles of constitutional and legal interpretation in a post-positivist environment. Judges are increasingly required to act as concretizers of constitutional norms and fundamental rights, often expressed in principle-based norms (which demand techniques like proportionality and balancing) and open-ended or indeterminate legal concepts—thus attributing to judges a subsidiary legislative role. The course then analyzes the system of judicial precedents (whether persuasive or binding) in Comparative Law and in Brazil, evaluating how it was designed to mitigate the risks of inconsistency and fragmentation caused by the expansion of judicial discretion. After a thorough examination of the core concepts, techniques, and institutions of the Brazilian precedent system—both generally and within labor law—the course critically assesses its practical operation, highlighting its advantages, risks, limitations, and potential distortions in the current practice of Brazilian labor courts.
DRUMMOND, Paulo Henrique Dias; CROCETTI, Priscila Soares. “Historical Development, Key Features, and Convergence Perspectives of Common Law and Civil Law Traditions.” In: MARINONI, Luiz Guilherme (ed.). The Power of Precedents. Salvador: JusPodivm, 2nd ed., 2012, pp. 41–82.
1. Constitutional social protection extends to public sector workers. The social security system for civil servants is guaranteed by the Constitution and regulatory laws and is structured under the Own Social Security Regime (RPPS). 2. Pension reforms for public servants under the Brazilian Federal Constitution. These reforms tend toward unifying criteria and rules, aiming for regime unification, as seen in Italy and other countries. Governments have emphasized the growing deficit in public servants’ pension accounts, where revenue no longer covers monthly and annual expenses. However, this scenario is marked by controversial and conflicting elements. 3. Financial and actuarial balance and the offsetting of liabilities using public assets and public funds, followed by extraordinary new contributions from civil servants. 4. Compensation rules between social security regimes. 5. Special retirement rules for Federal Police officers and the Social Protection System for military personnel. 6. The Complementary Pension Fund for civil servants as a mechanism for intergenerational cohort management. 7. Private pension plans as a social fundamental right – complementarity as a theme for debate. 8. Open and closed private pension models in Brazil and contract theory. 9. The Consumer Defense Code and its implications for private pension schemes. 10. Disciplinary proceedings in private pensions and the regulatory processes involving state oversight.
NOGUEIRA, Narlon Gutierre. Own Social Security Regimes – Federal Legislation Consolidation. Available at: www.previdencia.gov.br, in “Regimes Próprios de Previdência” – “RPPS Legislation”, 2018. Also: http://www.projup.com.br/arq/102/arq_102_222554.pdf
Given the subject proposed for the course, the content will encompass the conceptualization and definition of the main functions of legal principles, as well as their various categories in light of contemporary legal philosophy: constitutional principles, general principles of law, and specific principles of procedure. Based on this framework, the course will discuss the instrumental function of procedure as a mechanism for access to justice and the realization of rights. It will also examine the interrelationship between civil and labor procedure and the conceptual and structural changes introduced by the 2015 Code of Civil Procedure (CPC-2015).
This course aims to analyze the foundations of collective actions in mass labor disputes, as well as to identify relevant points for a comparative analysis, such as standing, the nature of the protected interests, statutes of limitation, evidence, lis pendens, res judicata, and enforcement. The first comparative scope involves public civil actions (collective actions) in Brazilian law and class actions in U.S. law. The second comparison covers European systems, considering the approval of a directive on collective actions in consumer protection. Some countries, such as France, have extended collective actions to include claims against discriminatory practices in the workplace. The final comparative scope addresses Latin America, examining countries with legislation on the matter, such as Mexico. In parallel, the course explores the interaction between the microsystem of metaindividual or collective protection and the microsystem of repetitive litigation, as well as the binding precedents generated by them, comparing recent Brazilian experiences with U.S. class actions and German collective actions (Musterverfahren or model cases).
PIMENTA, José Roberto Freire. The System of Binding Judicial Precedents and the Microsystem of Repetitive Litigation in Labor Procedure. Journal of the Superior Labor Court (Revista do TST), Brasília, vol. 82, Apr.–Jun. 2016, pp. 176–235.
Eduardo Milleo Baracat | José Roberto Freire Pimenta | Márcio Túlio Viana | Mauricio Godinho Delgado | Ricardo José Macedo de Britto Pereira (DOCENTE RESPONSÁVEL)
Constitutionalism, Labor Law, and Procedure
José Roberto Freire Pimenta | Márcio Túlio Viana | Maria Cecilia de Almeida Monteiro Lemos | Raimundo Simão de Melo | Ricardo José Macedo de Britto Pereira | Mauricio Godinho Delgado (DOCENTE RESPONSÁVEL) (DOCENTE RESPONSÁVEL)
Constitutionalism, Labor Law, and Procedure
Cristina Aguiar Ferreira da Silva | Gabrielle Jacobi Kölling | Kátia Magalhães Arruda | Marcelo Fernando Borsio | Maria Cecilia de Almeida Monteiro Lemos | Paulo Campanha Santana | Raimundo Simão de Melo (DOCENTE RESPONSÁVEL)
Social Human Rights, Social Security, and the Working Environment
Cristina Aguiar Ferreira da Silva | Gabrielle Jacobi Kölling | Marcelo Fernando Borsio (DOCENTE RESPONSÁVEL)
Social Human Rights, Social Security, and the Working Environment
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