Possibilidade de flexibilização do art. 42, §1º, do ECA, para a concessão da adoção avoenga em caráter excepcional

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the possibility of flexibilizing Article 42, paragraph 1, of the Statute of the Child and Adolescent (ECA), with regard to the prohibition of adoption by grandparents. The bibliographical, documentary, comparative, and analytical methods will be employed through the study and exposition of legislation and legal doctrine, in order to understand the evolution of the adoption institute and systematically elucidate the criticisms and implications that led to the formulation of the prohibition contained in the referred provision. It will also examine judicial claims concerning grandparent adoption (known in Brazil as adoção avoenga), in order to identify the characteristics that have been considered in the decisions of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ). It is concluded that, given the complexity of the subject, a caseby-case analysis, in light of constitutional principles, appears to be the most appropriate approach to adjudicating such claims.