Laura Mastroianni Kirsztajn

PhD Candidate (2026–) and Master (2024, with a PROEX-CAPES scholarship 2022–2024) in Public Law at the University of São Paulo Law School (USP), with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree from Fundação Getulio Vargas Law School in São Paulo (FGV-SP). Teaching assistant at Insper and collaborator at the Escola de Formação da Sociedade Brasileira de Direito Público (EF-SBDP). Research interests include the 1987–1988 National Constituent Assembly, political crimes, national security, legal education, and teaching methodology.

CV Lattes: 2131836801100181

orcid iD: 0000-0002-3091-4001

DOCTORAL RESEARCH

In the doctoral program, my aim is to conduct a document-based, normative, and institutional analysis of Brazilian intelligence activities, backed by the 1988 Federal Constitution, with the objective of proposing a model compatible with the democratic constitutional order. The research focuses on the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin), while also examining the potential legacy left by the National Information Service (SNI), one of Brazil’s intelligence agencies during the military dictatorship, specifically in its organization and regulation. Documents guiding Abin’s activities, such as the Doctrine of Intelligence Activity, the National Intelligence Policy, and the National Intelligence Strategy, will be examined. In addition, international experiences, particularly at the constitutional and legislative levels, will be assessed to contribute to the construction of the proposed model.

MASTER’S RESEARCH

In the master’s program, my aim was to map the debate on political crimes and national security during the 1987–1988 National Constituent Assembly (ANC), focusing on disputes between continuity and rupture with the legal order of the military dictatorship. Sources examined included the ANC’s Diaries and Annals, minutes, substitute bills, reports, amendments, draft constitutions, and the Constituent Assembly Journal, complemented by bibliographic research. The conclusion was that members of the constituent assembly, civil society, and the military regarded “national security” as a strategic issue for defining the identity and future of the new constitution. The debate permeated various subcommittees, committees, plenary speeches, and other stages of the ANC. Although not explicitly reflected in the final text of the 1988 Federal Constitution, the dispute was indirectly translated into achievements regarding fundamental rights and guarantees, the inclusion of torture and terrorism crimes in the constitutional text, and the abolition of the National Security Council. Military pressures during the ANC, combined with concerns about jeopardizing the stability of the democratic transition, likely postponed decisions on repealing the National Security Law and on whether to enact new legislation on political crimes. Consequently, this responsibility was transferred to political and legal institutions after 1988.