The threat of Justice:the role of mediation and judicialization in managing the right to health
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/1678-9857.ra.229312Keywords:
Health litigation, Mediation, Rights, Conflict resolution, JusticeAbstract
The Health Dispute Resolution Chamber (CRLS) was created to offer “administrative solutions” to judicial claims in the health sector and to control an alleged problem of “excessive judicialization”. Based on an ethnography carried out over thirteen months at this agency, I discuss the relationship between mediation and judicialization established by the practices of managing demands for the right to health in the daily life of the institution. My central argument is that the threat of justice – that is, the possibility of a case being referred to the Public Defender's Office for judicialization – functions as a kind of instrument of pressure and a mechanism of coercion. By addressing these issues, I intend to demonstrate how the management of potential health litigation is a space in which not only rights are disputed, but also the attribution of duties and responsibilities between the different agents and state agencies with which the CRLS dialogues.
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