Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to present the concept of legal public sphere in Jürgen Habermas’ work, exemplifying it through the institutional mechanism of public hearings that occur within the Brazilian Supreme Court, ultimately discussing the public hearing on the constitutionality of racial quotas for admission to higher education. We present this Habermasian concept seeking to explain an institutional arena with a different deliberative democratic potential within the Judiciary, as well as to better understand the social energy exchanges that can influence positionings in judicial decision-making centers.
Keywords:
Critical Theory; Jürgen Habermas; Legal Public Sphere; Public Hearings; Racial Quotas