Heron Santana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Brazilian Jurist
Contemporary Jurist,
Heron Santana
Name
Heron José de Santana
Birth 1962
School/tradition Abolitionist
Main interests Ethics
Notable ideas A chimpanzee can be a person.
Influenced by Rui Barbosa, Luis Gama, Tobias Barreto, Mahatma Gandhi, Tom Regan, David Favre
Influenced Tagore Trajano, Luciano Santana, Thiago Pires, Antônio Ferreira Leal Filho

Heron J. Santana (born March 23, 1962) is Brazilian law professor and animal-rights activist. He brought a case to court asking that a chimpanzee be recognized as a person.

He is an Assistant Professor at Federal University of Bahia, School of Law, where he teaches environmental law, criminal law and constitutional law for undergraduate and graduate courses. Santana has authored many papers and research studies about environmental law, animal-rights and animal law.

Contents

[edit] Education

Santana obtained a master in Law (1996) and a master in Sociology (1999) from Federal University of Bahia and was awarded his J. D., magna cum laude, from Federal University of Pernambuco, School of Law (2006), with a thesis on the Brazilian Abolitionist Movement for Animal liberation.

[edit] Habeas Corpus Writ on Behalf of a Chimpanzee

Santana served as environmental public prosecutor at Salvador, capital city of Bahia. He is best known for leading a petition of a habeas corpus writ on behalf of a Swiss chimpanzee that lived in a cage at the Salvador zoo. This was the first case to come before the court under a petition for Habeas Corpus to consider that a chimpanzee might be a legal person.

The judge, Edmundo Lúcio da Cruz, who analyzed the petition for habeas corpus submitted to the "9th Criminal Court" ruled in favor of the chimpanzee. The decision was made on September 28, 2006 and published in the "Official Diary" on October 4, 2006, World Animal Day.

Santana said: "It is true that, in this initial ruling, admitting the debate of this matter, I have displeased some overzealous jurists, who might have forgotten a Roman Law maxim, which says that in any provision, I would like to recall the wise words of the late Prof. Vicente Rao, who wrote in his monumental work – The Law and Life of Rights: “jurists should not seek demagogic applause, which they are not in need of. Quite the contrary, they have to courageously set forth the true scientific and philosophical principles of Law, proclaiming them loud and clear. They have to make these prevail in a tumultuous legislative scene, where changes are dictated by social contingencies, extracting there from rules which govern new needs, without sacrificing freedom, dignity and human personality.” Among the factors that influenced my accepting this matter for discussion is the fact that among the petitioners are persons with presumed broad legal knowledge, such as prosecutors and Law professors."

[edit] Select Publications

  • SANTANA. Heron José de. Abolicionismo animal. Revista de Direito Ambiental. São Paulo, Revista dos Tribunais, n. 6, p. 85-109, out/dez, 2004.
  • SANTANA, H. J. . Espírito animal e o fundamento moral do especismo. Revista Brasileira de Direito Animal, v. 01, p. 37-65, 2006.
  • SANTANA, H. J. . Os Crimes contra a fauna e a Filosofia Jurídica Ambiental. Direito Ambiental na visão da Magistratura e do Ministério Público, Belo Horizonte - MG, p. 305-327, 2003.
  • SANTANA, H. J. . Ministério Público e Poder Simbólico. Revista do Ministério Público do Estado da Bahia, v. 8, 1997.

[edit] External links