A Função Social da Empresa na Leitura Civil-Constitucional: um Paradigma Emergente

Abstract

Many contemporary authors have studied one or other legal creation, aiming at understanding their relevant function, from a social standpoint. This has also been the case with the so-called enterprise, i.e., the incorporated business venture. Brazilian Law, however, does not comprise a uniform legal standard for the definition of such an entity. There are indeed many legal ways in which to envision an incorporated business venture. Contemporary research methods combining Civil and Constitutional criteria point at some recent developments of the functional perspectives of an incorporated business venture vis-à-vis the social context. Such recent developments involve a noticeable convergence of the civil legal system towards common law, and vice-versa. Managerial mechanisms of a legal nature brought forth by principles of corporate governance were also taken into consideration in this study, and three reference cases were selected and studied to witness such a migration of these two prevailing legal systems towards one another, as well as to witness an emerging paradigm of effectiveness of the social functionalities of the incorporated business entity as dictated by the Brazilian Constitution dated 1946 in relation to property rights in general, and as more clearly emphasized by the Federal Constitution dated 1988.