LINGUAGEM SIMPLES COMO MECANISMO DE ACESSO À JUSTIÇA: UMA ANÁLISE DO PACTO NACIONAL DO JUDICIÁRIO E SUA IMPLEMENTAÇÃO TECNOLÓGICA

Abstract

This article investigates complex legal language as a barrier to the constitutional principle of access to justice and discusses the adoption of plain language as a path to democratize judicial protection. The analysis draws on Cappelletti and Garth’s conception, articulated with Silveira’s (2020) systemic reading and the notion of organizational vulnerability defended by Grostein (2023), to demonstrate that legalese empties the constitutional guarantee by alienating citizens from procedural acts, producing vulnerability, involuntary default and curtailment of defense. The methodology is bibliographic and documentary research, qualitative in nature and deductive in method, covering the international Plain Language movement, the ISO 24495-1 standard, the Brazilian regulatory framework, and the National Pact of the Judiciary for Plain Language, established by CNJ Recommendation No. 144/2023, in addition to Recommendation No. 154/2024. Initiatives such as Consulta Cidadão (TRT-11), SimplesTOC (TJTO), Explica Aí, Tchê (TJMRS), the Aurora Laboratory guide (TJDFT) and Linguagem Cidadã (TRE-PR) are examined. In conclusion, it is sustained that adapting judicial communication is a duty of institutional cooperation that materializes access to justice in the Democratic State of Law without compromising legal technique, and that articulating textual revision, functional training and technology constitutes a viable path to transform, in practice, the experience of citizens before the courts. Keywords: Access to Justice; Plain Language; National Pact of the Judiciary; Legalese; Active Transparency.