ACCESS TO JUSTICE AND RECOGNITION: THE PUBLIC DEFENDER’S OFFICE AS AN INSTITUTIONAL MEDIATOR IN ITS MISSION AS CUSTOS VULNERABILIS AND AMICUS COMMUNITATIS

The main objective of this article is to analyze the relationship between access to justice, recognition and the performance of the Public Defender's Office as custos vulnerabilis and amicus communitatis. To achieve this, we outlined the following specific objectives: a) carry out a literature review regarding access to justice and the performance of the Public Defender's Office, in order to understand the extent to which academic production has highlighted the importance of recognition as a dimension of access substantial justice, considering the role of the Public Defender's Office as custos vulnerabilis and amicus communitatis; b) describe recognition as a dimension of access to justice, in terms of the philosophical theory developed by Axel Honneth; and c) present the Public Defender's Office, through its mission as custos vulnerabilis and acting as amicus communitatis, as a possible institutional mediator, in terms of Honneth's theory of recognition.