
Professor Octavio Ferraz
Professor of Law
- Co-Director of the Transnational Law Institute
Research interests
- Law
Biography
Professor Octavio Ferraz is a Professor of Law. He holds an LLB and MPhil in Law (University of São Paulo), an MA in Medical Ethics & Law (King's College London, prize Benjamin Geijsen) and a PhD in Law (University College London).
Before joining King's he was a senior research officer to the UN special rapporteur for the right to health, Professor Paul Hunt, at the University of Essex, and then moved to Warwick Law School, where he was an Assistant and then an Associate Professor for 8 years.
Before moving to academia, he practiced law in Sao Paulo, Brazil, mostly in the fields of corporate public law and medical law for over ten years. He is still a member of the Brazilian Bar and contributes regularly to the Brazilian press.
Research
Professor Ferraz's research interests are in the field of human rights and development, especially the role and impact of law and courts in poverty, equality and social justice. He adopts mostly comparative, transnational and international perspectives, and an interdisciplinary approach, engaging with political philosophy, economics, sociology and political sciences and combining empirical methods and theoretical inquiry in his projects.
Teaching
- Public Law
- Human Rights Law in International and Transnational Perspective
- Inequality, Human Development and the Rule of Law in Transnational perspective
PURE profile
Brazil's social policies since the 1930s: From fragmentation to universalism
Motta Ferraz, O. L., 13 Dec 2022, Law and Social Policy in the Global South: Brazil, China, India, South Africa. Taylor and Francis Inc., p. 16-38 23 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
The “Poor Cousins”: What, If Anything, Can International Law and Lawyers Do for Social Rights?
Ferraz, O. L. M., 1 Jan 2020, Human Dignity and International Law. Brill, p. 87-99 13 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
The Court’s Dilemma in Social Rights’ Enforcement
Ferraz, O. L. M., 1 Jan 2021, Constitutionalism: Old Dilemmas, New Insights. Oxford University Press, p. 202-236 35 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Mandatory COVID-19 vaccination and human rights
King, J., Ferraz, O. L. M. & Jones, A., 15 Jan 2022, In: The Lancet. 399, 10321, p. 220-222 3 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review
Health in the courts of Latin America
Motta Ferraz, O. L., Jun 2018, In: Health and human rights. 20, 1, p. 67-77 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › peer-review
Covid-19 and inequality: the importance of social rights
Ferraz, O. L. M., 2021, (Accepted/In press) In: King's Law Journal. 32, 1, p. 109-121 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
What course without evils? Rare diseases, children's right to health and the sustainable development goals
Ferraz, O. L. M., 12 Apr 2019, Children's Rights and Sustainable Development: Interpreting the UNCRC for Future Generations. Cambridge University Press, p. 78-113 36 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Difficult trade-offs in response to COVID-19: the case for open and inclusive decision making
Norheim, O. F., Abi-Rached, J. M., Bright, L. K., Bærøe, K., Ferraz, O. L. M., Gloppen, S. & Voorhoeve, A., 2020, (Accepted/In press) In: Nature Medicine.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review
Health as a Human Right: The Politics and Judicialisation of Health in Brazil
Ferraz, O., 17 Dec 2020, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 333 p. (Cambridge Studies in Law and Society)Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review
Universal Human Rights and Ordinary Virtues. A Comment On Michael Ignatieff's The Ordinary Virtues: Moral Order in A Divided World
Ferraz, O. L. M., 2 Sept 2019, In: King's Law Journal. 30, 3, p. 349-355 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Brazil: Are collective suits harder to enforce?
Ferraz, O. L. M., 1 Jan 2017, Social Rights Judgments and the Politics of Compliance: Making it Stick. Cambridge University Press, p. 177-200 24 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Two Conceptions of Social and Economic Rights: Basic Needs versus Equality
Ferraz, O. L. M., 20 Nov 2017, Political and Legal Approaches to Human Rights. Campbell, T. & Bourne, K. (eds.). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, p. 133-154 22 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
The Right to Health in the Courts of Brazil: still worsening health inequities?
Ferraz, O. L. M., 2017, In: Revista del Centro de Estudios Constitucionales. p. 195-228Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Health Inequalities, Rights and Courts: The Social Impact of the “Judicialization of Health” in Brazil
Ferraz, O. L. M., 2011, Litigating Health Rights: Can courts bring more justice to health?. Yamin, A. E. & Gloppen, S. (eds.). Harvard University PressResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Pharmaceutical Companies vs. the State: Who Is Responsible for Post-Trial Provision of Drugs in Brazil?
Ferraz, O. L. M. & Wang, D. W. L., 2012, In: The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics. 40, 2, p. 188-196Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Reaching Out to the Needy? Access to Justice and Public Attorneys' Role in Right to Health Litigation in the City of Sao Paulo
Ferraz, O. L. M. & Wang, D., 2013, In: SUR International Journal on Human Rights. 10, 18, p. 159-180Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Universal health coverage, priority setting, and the human right to health
Rumbold, B., Baker, R., Ferraz, O., Hawkes, S., Krubiner, C., Littlejohns, P., Norheim, O. F., Pegram, T., Rid, A., Venkatapuram, S., Voorhoeve, A., Wang, D., Weale, A., Wilson, J., Yamin, A. E. & Hunt, P., 26 Apr 2017, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Lancet. 390, 10095, p. 712-714Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Between Abdication and Usurpation: Social Rights in the Courts of Brazil, India and South Africa
Ferraz, O. L. M., 2013, Transformative constitutionalism: Comparing the apex courts of Brazil, India and South Africa. Vilhena, O., Baxi, U. & Viljoen, F. (eds.). Pretoria University Law PressResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Moving the debate forward in right to health litigation
Ferraz, O., 1 Dec 2016, In: Health and human rights. 18, 2, p. 265-268 4 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter › peer-review
Right to health litigation in Brazil: are collective suits harder to enforce?
Ferraz, O. L. M., Mar 2017, Making it Stick. Compliance with Social Rights Judgments in Comparative Perspective. Langford & Rodriguez-Garavito (eds.). DeJusticiaResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
Inequality, Not Insufficiency: Making Social Rights Real in a World of Plenty
Ferraz, O. L. M., 2014, In: Equal Rights Review. 12, p. 77-94Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
Between Activism and Deference: Social Rights Adjudication in the Brazilian Supreme Federal Tribunal
Ferraz, O. L. M., Sept 2015, Social and Economic Rights in Theory and Practice: Critical Inquiries. Alviar Garcia, H., Klare, K. & Williams, L. A. (eds.). RoutlegdeResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
Judging the Price of Life: cost considerations in right to health litigation?
Gloppen, S., Ferraz, O. L. M., Maestad, O. & Rakner, L., 2014, Juridification and Social Citizenship in the Welfare State. Sinding Aasen et al, H. (ed.). Edward ElgarResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
The Brazilian “Second Bill of Rights”: a cause for celebration?
Ferraz, O. L. M., 2014, In: E-Publica: Revista Eletronica de Direito Publico. 3Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research

Governance, leadership and democracy
This research group explores Brazil's transition to democracy, the quality of democracy, transitional justice and human rights.

Authoritarianism and populism research group
Examining the rise and effects of authoritarianism and populism.
News
Can Science and Law Save the Amazon and its Peoples?
After giving a lecture at Stanford University on the struggle to overcome political and economic resistance by those who profit from the destruction of the...

Banzeiro Okoto - the Amazon as the Centre of the World
Award winning Brazilian journalist Eliane Brum discussed her new book "Banzeiro Okoto - the Amazon as the Centre of the World" with the Transnational Law...

The Transnational Law Institute presents report to the UN Human Rights Committee
The Human Rights Committee is holding its 138th session in Geneva and reviewed, among other countries, the human rights situation in Brazil; The Transnational...

The Future of the Amazon: Hope and Challenges for Brazil
Six months after the elections in Brazil, we held a discussion about the hope that president Lula will fulfil his promise of protecting the Amazon rain...

Book Launch: the Disappeared of the South American Dictatorships and the Struggle to Find Them
Journalist Jan Rocha, former BBC and The Guardian correspondent in São Paulo, Brazil, launched her new book about CLAMOR, a small human rights organisation...

"The Struggle for Demarcation of Indigenous Lands is for all Humanity"
Dr. Eloy Terena, a lawyer, researcher, and Indigenous land rights activist from Brazil, spoke to Transnational Law Institute Co-director Octavio Ferraz about...

Transnational Law Institute launches Global Project on Authoritarianism
Experts from around the world gathered at The Dickson Poon School of Law last week to launch a new project looking at the recent tendency towards...

What are the Laws for our Sustainable Future?
What laws are in place across the world for the protection of our fragile planet? How effective are they? How can they be strengthened? A new project by the...

TLI and the Campaign to Defend Democracy in Brazil
The resounding call from Brazil, "democratic rule of law always", was heard loud and clear in King's College London when Professor Octavio Ferraz read the...

Brazilian Democracy at Risk
Ahead of the upcoming elections in Brazil, the Letter to Brazilians was written and has now been signed by over 810.000 people in Brazil. The Transnational...

Events

A Conversation with Felipe Tuxá: Speaking of White Lethality at the ICC
Strategies of the Indigenous Movement Against Genocide in Brazil
Please note: this event has passed.

'Brazil is back: lessons learned and Brazil’s prospects in foreign affairs' with Brazilian Ambassador Antonio Patriota
Lecture with Brazilian Ambassador Antonio Patriota and with Professor Octavio Ferraz and Dr Vinicius de Carvalho as discussants
Please note: this event has passed.

Fixing the Climate: Strategies for an Uncertain World
A public lecture to be delivered by Prof Charles Sabel of Columbia University
Please note: this event has passed.

Banzeiro Òkòtó - The Amazon as the Centre of the World
in conversation with award-winning Brazilian writer Eliane Brum and guests to discuss Brum's latest and highly acclaimed book Banzeiro Òkòtó - The Amazon as...
Please note: this event has passed.

Solidarity Without Borders
Book launch and panel discussion: "Clamor: The search for the disappeared of the South American dictatorships" by Jan Rocha
Please note: this event has passed.

A new roadmap for the Amazon forest and Brazil’s development agenda
Join us on International Day of Forests, where the challenges and opportunities of Brazil’s climate and nature agenda will be discussed.
Please note: this event has passed.

Human Rights and Natural Resources
Leigh Day International, Clean Trade and the Transnational Law Institute are pleased to invite you to our in person series of panel talks on the human rights...
Please note: this event has passed.

Breaking the Link between Oil & Gas and War: Putting Human Rights into ESG
Consultation for Investors, Policy Makers and Industry Participants
Please note: this event has passed.

30 Years of the right to health in Brazil
What has changed? What remains to be changed? What are the challenges and obstacles?
Please note: this event has passed.
Brazil's social policies since the 1930s: From fragmentation to universalism
Motta Ferraz, O. L., 13 Dec 2022, Law and Social Policy in the Global South: Brazil, China, India, South Africa. Taylor and Francis Inc., p. 16-38 23 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
The “Poor Cousins”: What, If Anything, Can International Law and Lawyers Do for Social Rights?
Ferraz, O. L. M., 1 Jan 2020, Human Dignity and International Law. Brill, p. 87-99 13 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
The Court’s Dilemma in Social Rights’ Enforcement
Ferraz, O. L. M., 1 Jan 2021, Constitutionalism: Old Dilemmas, New Insights. Oxford University Press, p. 202-236 35 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Mandatory COVID-19 vaccination and human rights
King, J., Ferraz, O. L. M. & Jones, A., 15 Jan 2022, In: The Lancet. 399, 10321, p. 220-222 3 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review
Health in the courts of Latin America
Motta Ferraz, O. L., Jun 2018, In: Health and human rights. 20, 1, p. 67-77 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › peer-review
Covid-19 and inequality: the importance of social rights
Ferraz, O. L. M., 2021, (Accepted/In press) In: King's Law Journal. 32, 1, p. 109-121 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
What course without evils? Rare diseases, children's right to health and the sustainable development goals
Ferraz, O. L. M., 12 Apr 2019, Children's Rights and Sustainable Development: Interpreting the UNCRC for Future Generations. Cambridge University Press, p. 78-113 36 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Difficult trade-offs in response to COVID-19: the case for open and inclusive decision making
Norheim, O. F., Abi-Rached, J. M., Bright, L. K., Bærøe, K., Ferraz, O. L. M., Gloppen, S. & Voorhoeve, A., 2020, (Accepted/In press) In: Nature Medicine.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review
Health as a Human Right: The Politics and Judicialisation of Health in Brazil
Ferraz, O., 17 Dec 2020, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 333 p. (Cambridge Studies in Law and Society)Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review
Universal Human Rights and Ordinary Virtues. A Comment On Michael Ignatieff's The Ordinary Virtues: Moral Order in A Divided World
Ferraz, O. L. M., 2 Sept 2019, In: King's Law Journal. 30, 3, p. 349-355 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Brazil: Are collective suits harder to enforce?
Ferraz, O. L. M., 1 Jan 2017, Social Rights Judgments and the Politics of Compliance: Making it Stick. Cambridge University Press, p. 177-200 24 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Two Conceptions of Social and Economic Rights: Basic Needs versus Equality
Ferraz, O. L. M., 20 Nov 2017, Political and Legal Approaches to Human Rights. Campbell, T. & Bourne, K. (eds.). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, p. 133-154 22 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
The Right to Health in the Courts of Brazil: still worsening health inequities?
Ferraz, O. L. M., 2017, In: Revista del Centro de Estudios Constitucionales. p. 195-228Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Health Inequalities, Rights and Courts: The Social Impact of the “Judicialization of Health” in Brazil
Ferraz, O. L. M., 2011, Litigating Health Rights: Can courts bring more justice to health?. Yamin, A. E. & Gloppen, S. (eds.). Harvard University PressResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Pharmaceutical Companies vs. the State: Who Is Responsible for Post-Trial Provision of Drugs in Brazil?
Ferraz, O. L. M. & Wang, D. W. L., 2012, In: The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics. 40, 2, p. 188-196Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Reaching Out to the Needy? Access to Justice and Public Attorneys' Role in Right to Health Litigation in the City of Sao Paulo
Ferraz, O. L. M. & Wang, D., 2013, In: SUR International Journal on Human Rights. 10, 18, p. 159-180Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Universal health coverage, priority setting, and the human right to health
Rumbold, B., Baker, R., Ferraz, O., Hawkes, S., Krubiner, C., Littlejohns, P., Norheim, O. F., Pegram, T., Rid, A., Venkatapuram, S., Voorhoeve, A., Wang, D., Weale, A., Wilson, J., Yamin, A. E. & Hunt, P., 26 Apr 2017, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Lancet. 390, 10095, p. 712-714Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Between Abdication and Usurpation: Social Rights in the Courts of Brazil, India and South Africa
Ferraz, O. L. M., 2013, Transformative constitutionalism: Comparing the apex courts of Brazil, India and South Africa. Vilhena, O., Baxi, U. & Viljoen, F. (eds.). Pretoria University Law PressResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Moving the debate forward in right to health litigation
Ferraz, O., 1 Dec 2016, In: Health and human rights. 18, 2, p. 265-268 4 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter › peer-review
Right to health litigation in Brazil: are collective suits harder to enforce?
Ferraz, O. L. M., Mar 2017, Making it Stick. Compliance with Social Rights Judgments in Comparative Perspective. Langford & Rodriguez-Garavito (eds.). DeJusticiaResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
Inequality, Not Insufficiency: Making Social Rights Real in a World of Plenty
Ferraz, O. L. M., 2014, In: Equal Rights Review. 12, p. 77-94Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
Between Activism and Deference: Social Rights Adjudication in the Brazilian Supreme Federal Tribunal
Ferraz, O. L. M., Sept 2015, Social and Economic Rights in Theory and Practice: Critical Inquiries. Alviar Garcia, H., Klare, K. & Williams, L. A. (eds.). RoutlegdeResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
Judging the Price of Life: cost considerations in right to health litigation?
Gloppen, S., Ferraz, O. L. M., Maestad, O. & Rakner, L., 2014, Juridification and Social Citizenship in the Welfare State. Sinding Aasen et al, H. (ed.). Edward ElgarResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
The Brazilian “Second Bill of Rights”: a cause for celebration?
Ferraz, O. L. M., 2014, In: E-Publica: Revista Eletronica de Direito Publico. 3Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research

Governance, leadership and democracy
This research group explores Brazil's transition to democracy, the quality of democracy, transitional justice and human rights.

Authoritarianism and populism research group
Examining the rise and effects of authoritarianism and populism.
News
Can Science and Law Save the Amazon and its Peoples?
After giving a lecture at Stanford University on the struggle to overcome political and economic resistance by those who profit from the destruction of the...

Banzeiro Okoto - the Amazon as the Centre of the World
Award winning Brazilian journalist Eliane Brum discussed her new book "Banzeiro Okoto - the Amazon as the Centre of the World" with the Transnational Law...

The Transnational Law Institute presents report to the UN Human Rights Committee
The Human Rights Committee is holding its 138th session in Geneva and reviewed, among other countries, the human rights situation in Brazil; The Transnational...

The Future of the Amazon: Hope and Challenges for Brazil
Six months after the elections in Brazil, we held a discussion about the hope that president Lula will fulfil his promise of protecting the Amazon rain...

Book Launch: the Disappeared of the South American Dictatorships and the Struggle to Find Them
Journalist Jan Rocha, former BBC and The Guardian correspondent in São Paulo, Brazil, launched her new book about CLAMOR, a small human rights organisation...

"The Struggle for Demarcation of Indigenous Lands is for all Humanity"
Dr. Eloy Terena, a lawyer, researcher, and Indigenous land rights activist from Brazil, spoke to Transnational Law Institute Co-director Octavio Ferraz about...

Transnational Law Institute launches Global Project on Authoritarianism
Experts from around the world gathered at The Dickson Poon School of Law last week to launch a new project looking at the recent tendency towards...

What are the Laws for our Sustainable Future?
What laws are in place across the world for the protection of our fragile planet? How effective are they? How can they be strengthened? A new project by the...

TLI and the Campaign to Defend Democracy in Brazil
The resounding call from Brazil, "democratic rule of law always", was heard loud and clear in King's College London when Professor Octavio Ferraz read the...

Brazilian Democracy at Risk
Ahead of the upcoming elections in Brazil, the Letter to Brazilians was written and has now been signed by over 810.000 people in Brazil. The Transnational...

Events

A Conversation with Felipe Tuxá: Speaking of White Lethality at the ICC
Strategies of the Indigenous Movement Against Genocide in Brazil
Please note: this event has passed.

'Brazil is back: lessons learned and Brazil’s prospects in foreign affairs' with Brazilian Ambassador Antonio Patriota
Lecture with Brazilian Ambassador Antonio Patriota and with Professor Octavio Ferraz and Dr Vinicius de Carvalho as discussants
Please note: this event has passed.

Fixing the Climate: Strategies for an Uncertain World
A public lecture to be delivered by Prof Charles Sabel of Columbia University
Please note: this event has passed.

Banzeiro Òkòtó - The Amazon as the Centre of the World
in conversation with award-winning Brazilian writer Eliane Brum and guests to discuss Brum's latest and highly acclaimed book Banzeiro Òkòtó - The Amazon as...
Please note: this event has passed.

Solidarity Without Borders
Book launch and panel discussion: "Clamor: The search for the disappeared of the South American dictatorships" by Jan Rocha
Please note: this event has passed.

A new roadmap for the Amazon forest and Brazil’s development agenda
Join us on International Day of Forests, where the challenges and opportunities of Brazil’s climate and nature agenda will be discussed.
Please note: this event has passed.

Human Rights and Natural Resources
Leigh Day International, Clean Trade and the Transnational Law Institute are pleased to invite you to our in person series of panel talks on the human rights...
Please note: this event has passed.

Breaking the Link between Oil & Gas and War: Putting Human Rights into ESG
Consultation for Investors, Policy Makers and Industry Participants
Please note: this event has passed.

30 Years of the right to health in Brazil
What has changed? What remains to be changed? What are the challenges and obstacles?
Please note: this event has passed.