RODRIGO VITORINO SOUZA ALVES

Contact

E-mail: rodrigo@direitoereligiao.org


Short Bio (150 words)

Rodrigo Vitorino Souza Alves is an Associate Professor of Law at the Federal University of Uberlandia (Brazil). He leads the Brazilian Center of Studies in Law and Religion - CEDIRE, which is a pioneer and unique initiative established in 2012, aiming to study and research into law, state, and religion from national and international perspectives, as well as to promote freedom of religion of belief through capacity-building projects, in collaboration with academic institutions, governmental bodies, and international organizations. Prof. Alves has been a visiting academic at several institutions, including the University of Oxford, Ratio Legis Center at Lisbon, and the International Center for Law and Religious Studies. Rodrigo has researched and published widely on law and religion, and has been invited to lecture and to serve as an expert at various institutions globally, including the UN and OAS. Prof. Alves holds a Ph.D. in Law from the University of Coimbra (Portugal).


Biography

Rodrigo Vitorino Souza Alves is a member (Associate Professor) of the Faculty of Law of the Federal University of Uberlandia (Brazil). He received his Ph.D in Law (Approved with Distinction by Unanimity) from the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra (Portugal), and his LL.M and LL.B from the Federal University of Uberlandia (Brazil). Rodrigo is a member of the Sterring Committee of the International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ICLARS) and the Latin American Consortium of Religious Freedom (CLLR). Prof. Alves has been appointed as a member of the Working Group on Religious Freedom of the National Council of Justice by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil in 2022. He was an Academic Visitor at the University of Oxford, a Researcher at the Ratio Legis - Center for Legal Research and Development  of the Autonomous University of Lisbon (on the topic religious freedom, social tension and security), a non-resident fellow at the International Center for Law and Religious Studies. His teaching and research interests include Law and Religion, Inter-religious and Intercultural Dialogue, Constitutional Law, Human Rights, Business and Human Rights, and Law and Technology. He leads the Brazilian Center of Studies in Law and Religion, which focuses on religious freedom, protection of religious minorities, anti-discrimination norms and church-state relations. Rodrigo has published academic works and has been invited to speak or presented papers at events in Brazil (including the National Congress of Brazil, the Human Rights Ministry and several Universities) and international events (including in the Universities of Beijing, Oslo, Cardiff, Oxford, Oxford Brookes, Bielefeld, PUC Uruguay e Paraguay, BYU and Virginia, Notre Dame; Fundazione Marcianum in Venice; Senate of Uruguay; United Nations - OHCHR; Organization of American States; European Union - EEAS e DG-INTPA). He also leads the Human Rights Lab, which was awarded the national prize offered by the Association of Judges of the State of Rio de Janeiro, for the best human rights project in 2020 (1º lugar no Prêmio AMAERJ Patrícia Acioli de Direitos Humanos). At the United Nations Office in Geneva (OHCHR), Rodrigo served as discussant of the draft recommendations and guest speaker at the Sixth Session of the Forum on Minority Issues on "Beyond freedom of religion or belief: Guaranteeing the rights of religious minorities", resulting in the "Recommendations of the Forum on Minority Issues at its sixth session: Guaranteeing the rights of religious minorities". At the OAS, he presented before the Committee of Juridical and Political Affairs of the OAS Permanent Council in Washington DC, on the Omnibus resolution chapter about the establishment of an interamerican dialogue on freedom of religion or belief (Feb. 2020). Rodrigo sits at the International Academic Advisory Board of the Advanced Program on Religion and the Rule of Law at Oxford, he is a member of the Editorial Board of the Series "Law and Religion in a Global Context" published by Springer and the editor of the book "Latin American Perspectives on Law and Religion", and also the Brazilian National Reporter for the Constitute Project (Comparative Constitutions Project). He is one of the original signatories of the Declaration on Human Dignity for Everyone Everywhere (December 2018). He was a member of the Expert Advisory Group for the International Development of Law Organization (IDLO) study on freedom of religion or belief. He is licensed to practice law in Brazil.


Recent publications on Law and Religion


Recent research and capactiy-building projects on Law and Religion