Ações negatórias de paternidade: legislação, DNA, socioafetividade e perspectiva de gênero

Abstract

The legal actions for the negation of paternity, as provided by Article 1,601 of the Brazilian Civil Code, allow a father to request the annulment of the paternal bond at any time. This type of action has been increasing in the courts, requiring a deeper understanding of these claims. This dissertation stems from the concerns of the researcher, a psychologist at the Court of Justice of Rio de Janeiro, who works with families involved in this type of legal demand. The work starts with the expansion of the family configurations protected by the 1988 Federal Constitution, highlighting important legal achievements and addressing family compositions that still lack adequate protection. The research discusses the alleged infallibility of the DNA test, bringing different perspectives on the relevance of the test in family court decisions. The category of socio-affectivity, when invoked to justify the absence of a bond between father and child, has been used to argue that the lack of the establishment of this emotional bond makes paternal rupture inconsequential for the child. Thus, the dissertation proposes to analyze the application of socio-affectivity both in the legal universe and in the context of psychology in the Judiciary. Is there an intersection of meanings between the disciplines? The legislative process that led to the imprescriptibility of contesting paternity is examined, as well as the impacts of biotechnology on the definition of kinship. The work also addresses the state imposition to enforce dual parentage, that is, the recognition of both parents on the birth certificate, rethinking the legal foundations in the pursuit of the “real truth” of parentage. Eight legal actions for paternity annulment are described, illustrating the contradictions and impasses in the process of these cases. The research also problematizes the insinuations about female behavior in paternity actions, highlighting the intersection of stigmas and discriminatory ideas. The procedural volume of paternity demands in the psychology sector of the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice is highlighted, emphasizing the challenges in accurately determining the number of actions related to the annulment of paternity. The goal of this work is to demonstrate the complexities of these judicial demands and the criteria adopted by the legal system, as well as by legal professionals, for maintaining or dismantling paternity.