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Ana Oliveira is a sociologist and researcher at the Centre for Social Studies, hired under the Individual Scientific Employment Stimulus Competition of the Foundation for Science and Technology. Oliveira holds a PhD in Feminist Studies from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Coimbra and conducts research in the field of social and cultural studies of law around the legal status of sex. Author of the book Assédio: aproximações sociojurídicas à sexualidade [Harassment: socio-legal approaches to sexuality] and coordinator of the Lawcus project.
Ana Rocha Pinho has a master's degree in Clinical and Health Psychology from the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Porto. Currently a Phd candidate in the Doctoral Programme in Human Sexuality. Her areas of interest and scientific production focus on sexualities and sexual assistance.
Andrea Peniche is an editor with a degree in philosophy and a master's degree in Education Sciences - specialising in Education, Gender and Citizenship - from the University of Porto. Author of the book Elas Somos Nós: O direito ao aborto como reivindicação democrática e cidadã [We Are Them: The right to abortion as a democratic and civic demand] and of several publications focusing on feminist perspectives on identity politics, intersectional struggles, and women's history. Peniche is a leader and activist for A Coletiva - one of the groups organising the International Feminist Strike in Portugal, which has contributed to political mobilisation around sexual reform agendas targeting harassment, persecution and related areas. She is a consultant for the Lawcus project.
António Casimiro Ferreira holds a PhD in Sociology of the State and Law from the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra. He is an Associate Professor with Aggregation at the same faculty and a researcher at the Centre for Social Studies, where he has coordinated several research projects. He is a founding member of the Sociology of Law and Justice Section of the Portuguese Sociological Association. Based on the political sociology of law, his areas of interest range from consultation, social dialogue, and collective bargaining to access to law, labour dispute resolution, and the historical and institutional influence of the International Labour Organisation. Cultivating links between political, social, and legal theory, he has published, among other books, Sociologia das Constituições: desafio crítico ao constitucionalismo de excepção, Sociologia do Direito: uma abordagem sociopolítica e Política e Sociedade: teoria social em tempo de austeridade. He is a researcher on the Lawcus project.
António Guerreiro, who holds a degree in Modern Languages and Literature (Portuguese/French) from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of Lisbon, was a cultural journalist and literary critic for the Expresso newspaper. He is currently a columnist for the Público newspaper. He is one of the founders of the cultural magazine Electra, published by the EDP Foundation, of which he is the editor. He is a guest lecturer at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon. He has contributed extensively to magazines, catalogues, and collective publications on art and literature. He is the author of the following books: O Acento Agudo do Presente (2000), O Demónio das Imagens. Sobre Aby Warburg (2018) e Zonas de Baixa Pressão (2021).
Brisa Paim Duarte is a Guest Lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra and a researcher at the Legal Institute of the same faculty (UCILeR). She teaches courses on Introduction to Law, Contemporary Legal Thought, Legal Methodology, and Law and Literature, and has extensive academic experience in multi- and transdisciplinary approaches to law and legal rationality. She holds a Master's degree in Legal-Philosophical Sciences from the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra, where she also submitted her doctoral thesis in the same area. Her doctoral research analyses, from a legal-methodological perspective, the complex place of images and post-textuality in legal culture and discourse, especially with regard to their relevance for the construction of judicial decisions and evidence assessments in the context of contemporary visual regimes and emerging visual and digital technologies. Paimm Duarte is the author of several publications, has presented papers at various national and international conferences, and holds editorial positions at Springer's International Journal for the Semiotics of Law.
Cátia Guerra is a psychiatrist at a treatment unit specialising in personality disorders and complex emotional needs. Guerra has a master's degree in medical anthropology and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Porto. Her research focuses particularly on the psychiatric system as a means of governing suffering and normal subjectivity. She is a consultant for the Lawcus project.
Catarina Vitorino is a psychologist with a PhD in Clinical and Health Psychology from the Centre for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive-Behavioural Intervention at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Coimbra. She is an activist, member of the Board of the Independent Living Centre Association, member of the European Network for Independent Living Youth Board, and co-founder of the feminist collective As DEsaFiantes.
Daniela Côrtes Maduro holds a Master's degree in Anglo-American Studies (University of Coimbra), a Master's degree in Editorial Studies (University of Aveiro) and a PhD in Materialities of Literature (University of Coimbra). She collaborates with several digital archives and projects focused on the study of narrative, digital media, multimodality, children's literature, experimental literature, and electronic literature. She is a researcher at the Centre for Portuguese Literature, where she is developing the project ‘Subversive and Activist Literature’.
Eugénia Maria da Silva Abrantes (Manteigas, 1965) is the director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Catholicism and Globalisation (IEAC-GO). She has a degree in Theology from the Portuguese Catholic University of Lisbon and in Psychological Sciences from the Higher Institute of Applied Psychology - University Institute of Lisbon. She also completed an integrated master's degree in Psychology, in the clinical area, at this Institute. She has a PhD in History and Culture of Religions from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon and a post-doctorate in "Études globales. Recherches sur la Compagnie de Jésus et sur ses interactions avec d’autres organisations religieuses dans l’histoire des processus de mondialisation (XVIe –XXe siècles)‘ from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris, as part of the ’Prix international d’encouragement aux études postdoctorales ‹Études globales›”. Abrantes also has qualifications in several areas: Human Resources Management (postgraduate) from the Instituto Superior de Gestão de Lisboa; Family Mediation from the Portuguese Institute of Family Mediation; Cognitive Coaching (training accredited by the Cognitive Coaching Centre – Denver – USA) from CITeS – Centro Internacional Teresiano-Sanjuanista – Universidad de la Mística de Ávila (Spain); “Ecompañamiento espiritual Mistagógico” (Escuela EcEs) also from CITeS. She is a researcher at IEC-GO, the Chair of Global Studies at the Open University of Lisbon, the Centre for History and the Centre for Lusophone and European Literatures and Cultures at the University of Lisbon. In recent years, she has developed research projects in the field of spirituality, religion and mysticism, in the areas of theology, psychology and history.
Fernanda Henriques holds a PhD in Contemporary Philosophy and is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Évora. Founder of the Centre for Philosophy and Gender of the Portuguese Society of Philosophy and a member of the current coordination team. She is a member of PRAXIS, Centre for Philosophy, Politics and Culture/Évora Unit. She is a member of the Scientific Council of several national and international philosophy journals. Henriques was a member of the National Council of Ethics for Life Sciences. She is co-founder of the Portuguese Association of Feminist Theologies and has several individual publications, as well as contributions to collective works in the fields of hermeneutic philosophy and women's studies, both national and international.
Inês Fernandes Godinho is an Associate Professor at Lusófona University (Porto). She holds a PhD in Law (Legal-Criminal Sciences) from the University of Coimbra and is a researcher at CEAD Francisco Suárez, where she is currently Vice-President (ULusófona), and a collaborating researcher at the Legal Institute of the University of Coimbra (FDUC). Godinho is a member of the National Council of Ethics for Life Sciences, as well as its Coordinating Committee. She is also a member of the Centre for Biomedical Law (CDB), the European Association for Health Law (EAHL), the European Law Institute (ELI), the Portuguese Association for Legal Theory, Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy, and the International Foundation for Criminal Sciences. Inês Fernandes Godinho has been a visiting professor in Germany and a visiting researcher in Poland, having been involved in several projects related to Criminal Law, Medical Law and Legal Theory. She is the author of over 100 titles, published in Portugal and abroad.
Joana Aguiar e Silva is an associate professor at the School of Law of the University of Minho. She holds a degree in Law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra and completed her Master's and Doctorate in Legal Sciences at the University of Minho. Her research work has focused on the areas of Methodology, History and Philosophy of Law, with particular emphasis on the fields of legal language and hermeneutics, and on the relationship between Law and Literature, areas in which she has published regularly. Joana Aguiar e Silva is a member of the Centre for Research in Justice and Governance at the Faculty of Law of the University of Minho. Between November 2021 and November 2025, she served as Vice-Rector for Culture and Territory at the University of Minho.
João Leal Amado holds a Master's and Doctorate in Law from the University of Coimbra. He is a Full Professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra. He is also Chairman of the Board of IDET - Institute of Business and Labour Law. He is a member of the list of arbitrators-presidents of the Economic and Social Council, with functions in the field of arbitration of minimum services during strikes in essential sectors.
João Pedroso has a degree in Law, a Master's and a PhD in Sociology of the State, Law and Administration. He is a professor at the Faculty of Economics and a researcher at the Centre for Social Studies at the University of Coimbra. He is co-coordinator of the PhD programme in Sociology of the State, Law and Justice (FEUC/CES).
Jorge Silva Santos holds a degree (2001), a Master's degree (2008) and a PhD (2019) in Law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon, where he is an Assistant Professor in the Historical-Legal Sciences Group and an Integrated Researcher at CIDPCC - Centre for Research in Criminal Law and Criminal Sciences, where he has been teaching History of Law, Philosophy of Law, Sociology of Law and Roman Law in undergraduate and postgraduate courses since 2002. He holds a postgraduate degree in Banking, Stock Exchange, and Insurance Law (2003, FDUC) and practised law in the area of Financial Law between 2002 and 2004. After completing a doctoral research project in 2019 on the Theory and History of Private Law Science in Portugal in the 19th and 20th centuries, for which he received an FCT scholarship, he has focused his research on the study of the relationship between Theory and Practice of Law Science conceived as social practices, based on an analytical perspective grounded in theoretical methodological reflection developed in the disciplinary fields of Social Sciences and Philosophy of Art, Language, Mind and Action, favouring the discourses of Bourdieu and Wittgenstein. In 2025, he completed the curricular part of his PhD in Sociology (ISCTE).
Jorge Cunha holds a PhD in Moral Theology. He was Director of the Faculty of Theology of Porto between 2001 and 2014. Cunha is a member of the Scientific Board of the Faculty of Theology and belongs to the clergy of the Diocese of Porto. He was president of the chapter of the Cathedral of Porto. His research focuses on moral theology, ethics and Portuguese thought.
José Manuel Pureza holds a degree in Law and a PhD in Sociology, both from the University of Coimbra. He is a Professor of International Relations at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra, an area of knowledge in which he has been teaching since its creation in 1995. Pureza is a researcher at the Centre for Social Studies, where he promoted the Centre for Peace Studies. His research priorities include Peace Studies, humanitarianism as ideology and practice, and the normative dimension of international relations.
Luís António Malheiro Meneses do Vale holds a Bachelor's, Master's and Doctorate in Law (Legal and Political Sciences), always under supervision of J. J. Gomes Canotilho, from the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra, where he was a Teaching Assistant and is now an Assistant Professor, Coordinator of the Master's Degree in Law and Researcher at the Legal Institute. He has also served as a member of the Governing Board and the Pedagogical Council and as a member of the Faculty Assembly. He is a founding member and current co-chair of the national chapter (as well as an international associate) of the International Society of Public Law, a member of the Portuguese Association of Constitutional Law (part of the International Association of Constitutional Law) and the Portuguese Association of Philosophy of Law, Theory of Law and Social Philosophy (Portuguese section of the Internationale Vereinigung für Rechts- und Wirtschaftsphilosophie), the Deutsch-Lusitanischen Juristenvereinigung, the Centre for Biomedical Law, the Ius Gentium Conimbrigae, the Portuguese Society of Rhetoric, the FDUL Laboratory of Ethics and Applied Rationality, as well as founder and member of the Board of the Association of Former Students of the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra (ALUMNI), President of the Republic of Law and coordinator of the Coimbra branch of the Causa Pública Association. He studies, writes, lectures and speaks publicly, mainly in the fields of philosophy, dogmatics and methodology of public law and constitutionality, particularly social constitutionality.
Maria do Carmo Silva Dias is a retired judge. She holds a degree in law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra and a master's degree in law from the Faculty of Law of the Catholic University of Porto. She was a lecturer at CEJ and has published monographs and several articles in specialist journals, both as author and co-author. She has been a speaker at various events in the field of law.
Mário Montenegro is a director, actor, playwright, and researcher at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies (University of Coimbra). Montenegro holds a degree in Electronic and Telecommunications Engineering (University of Aveiro) and a master's degree in European Dramatic Text (University of Porto), and a PhD in Artistic Studies - Theatre and Performing Arts (University of Coimbra). He is the artistic director of the Marionet theatre company (www.marioneteatro.com). His dramaturgical and research work explores the dialogue between the performing arts and science: dramaturgy of science, theatre based on scientific research, collaborative theatre with researchers, and performing arts in science communication. Montenegro is a consultant for the Lawcus project.
Nuno Igreja Matos holds a Master's degree in Law and Legal Science, specialising in Legal and Criminal Sciences. He works as a lecturer (guest assistant) at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon, where he teaches Criminal Law I and Criminal Law II. He is also a member of the Board and a researcher at the Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Sciences (IDPCC). Igreja Matos is a solicitor at the law firm Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associados, working in the area of criminal law, representing defendants and victims in court in the context of criminal proceedings. Frequent speaker at conferences and postgraduate courses. Author of several scientific articles, including ‘How we hate in court: an overview of psychological, legal and judicial perspectives on hate crimes under Portuguese law’, ‘Variações sobre a culpa nos crimes passionais a partir de ‘A Tragédia de Otelo’” and “Et tu, Brute: o conceito de crime político a partir de ‘A Tragédia de Júlio César’”.’. In 2023, Igreja Matos edited the book Ideologias Políticas e Direito Penal: o problema da incitação ao ódio no conflito político.
Patrícia Fernandes has a degree in Law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Porto and in Philosophy from the University of Minho, where she passed public doctoral exams in Social and Political Philosophy. She teaches Political Science at the University of Minho and conducts research in the areas of Political Theory, Theories of Democracy and Identity Politics. She is a regular columnist for the Observador newspaper.
Paula Maria Matos Gomes Leite Marinho Gomes. Born in Porto. Married with three children (interestingly, they all have degrees in Law, two from the University of Coimbra and one from the University of Porto). Graduated in Law from the Universidade Livre of Porto on 29/07/1986. Lawyer since 27/07/1988. She had her first contact with Canon Law when, in 1992, she accepted her parish priest's challenge to participate in a course in Fátima on matrimonial consent and causes of nullity, led by Professor Viladrich (Pedro Juan Viladrich Bataller) from the University of Navarra. She then participated in several conferences on Canon Law promoted by the Centre for Canon Law Studies at the Portuguese Catholic University and in courses on canonical forensic practice for lawyers and meetings for members of the Ecclesiastical Courts promoted by the Portuguese Association of Canonists. Gomes holds a postgraduate degree in Canonical Matrimonial Law from the Faculty of Theology of the Catholic University, Regional Centre of Braga, obtained on 24 January 2004. She is the author of Os Bens Temporais da Paróquia- o direito canónico e o direito português [The Temporal Goods of the Parish - Canon Law and Portuguese Law] (published by the Portuguese Catholic University) and A Eficácia das Decisões Sobre Nulidade do Matrimónio Canónico - regime jurídico actual [The Effectiveness of Decisions on the Nullity of Canonical Marriage - current legal regime] (published by the Famílias Association, Braga). Gomes is a lawyer admitted to several Ecclesiastical Courts (Viana do Castelo, Braga, Porto, Aveiro), where she has been representing cases of marriage annulment since 30 June 1994.
Pedro Caeiro is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra. He holds a bachelor's degree, master's degree and doctorate from the same faculty. Since 2019, he has taught Criminal Law I and Criminal Law II in the 3rd year of the Law Degree, and Criminal Law - The expansion of criminal law (1st Class) in the Scientific Master's Course.
Pedro Vasconcelos is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and a Researcher at the Centre for Research and Studies in Sociology (CIES-Iscte) at Iscte - Lisbon University Institute. Since 1996, he has been teaching undergraduate and postgraduate courses, mainly in the areas of contemporary sociological theory, social inequalities and gender sociology. His research activity, which began in 1992, has focused on categorisation processes, social representations and identities, family and social classes, generations and values, youth, social networks and inequalities. Currently, his main interests focus on sociological theory, social inequality and its multidimensionality, gender structures, relations and categories, masculinities/femininities and transgender issues, as well as processes of racialisation. Vasconcelos publishes regularly in national and international journals and publishing houses and participates in projects funded by national and European entities, including the Transrights: Gender Citizenship and Sexual Rights in Europe project (2015-2020; European Research Council, coordinated by Sofia Aboim).
Rui Sousa-Silva is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Arts (FLUP), researcher and Scientific Coordinator of the Linguistics Centre (CLUP) at the University of Porto, where he has been conducting research in Forensic Linguistics, particularly in the areas of authorship analysis, plagiarism analysis and detection, cybercrime, disinformation and hate speech. He is also Coordinator of the Specialisation Course in Forensic Linguistics, a member of the scientific committee of the Doctorate in Language Sciences and a member of the Ethics Committee of FLUP. Sousa-Silva holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics (Forensic Linguistics) from Aston University (Birmingham, United Kingdom). Author and co-author of dozens of papers on (computational) authorship analysis, plagiarism detection and cybercrime communications analysis, and co-editor of the bilingual international journal Language and Law - Linguagem e Direito and the 2nd edition of The Routledge Handbook of Forensic Linguistics.
Soraya Nour Sckell is a Full Professor at NOVA School of Law (NOVA University Lisbon). Director of CEDIS - Centre for Research & Development on Law and Society (NOVA School of Law) and a researcher at the Centre for Philosophy at the University of Lisbon. Sckell was Principal Investigator for the project “Cosmopolitanism: Justice, Democracy and Citizenship without Borders” (PTDC/FER-FIL/30686/2017, 2018–2022). In 2012, she received the Franco-German Friendship Award (German Embassy in Paris) and, in 2018, the Wolfgang Kaupen-Preis in Sociology of Law (German Sociological Association – Sociology of Law Section). Sckell received her PhD in Philosophy from Paris Nanterre University and Goethe-Universität Frankfurt (2012), under the supervision of Axel Honneth and Christian Lazzeri, and in Law from the University of São Paulo (1999), under the supervision of Vicente Marotta Rangel. She conducted postdoctoral research at the Universities of Saint Louis (SLU), Nanterre, Frankfurt am Main and Berlin (Humboldt University). Has taught at the Universities of São Paulo, Munich, Metz, Lille and Lisbon, as well as at Universidade Portucalense. Sckell was director of the research programme on cosmopolitanism at the Collège International de Philosophie (Paris, 2013–2019). Researcher for the Lawcus project.
Tiago Cavaco has a degree in Communication Sciences from Universidade Nova de Lisboa and studied Theology at the Baptist Seminary in Queluz. Founder of the music publisher FlorCaveira in 1999, he worked in television for a decade, wrote literary criticism for Atlântico and Ler magazines, and is a columnist for Observador. He is a Baptist pastor and has been dedicated since 2007 to opening new churches and helping old ones. He published his first book in 2013, called ‘Felizes Para Sempre e Outros Equívocos Acerca do Casamento’ [Happily Ever After and Other Misconceptions About Marriage] and since then other titles have been published, mainly in Brazil.
Tiago Ribeiro is a junior researcher at the Centre for Social Studies and a guest assistant at the School of Education and Social Sciences of the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria. He holds a bachelor's degree (with a thesis on the role of political technocracy in the late authoritarian context) and a master's degree (with a thesis on the legal construction of sexual inequality) in sociology from the University of Coimbra. He is currently completing his doctoral thesis in sociology of law, focusing on sexual invocation in jurisdictional practices. Ribeiro is a researcher for the Lawcus project.
Vânia Alvares is a lawyer and member of the Superior Council of the Public Prosecutor's Office, elected by the Assembly of the Republic. Alvares has a degree in Law (University of Coimbra), a master's degree in Political Science and International Relations (New University of Lisbon), and is a doctoral student in Political Science (New University of Lisbon). Her research interests combine the rule of law, institutional performance, and judicial governance. She has extensive experience in legislative activity, having been legal advisor to the Secretary of State for Equality and advisor to the Socialist Party Parliamentary Group. Consultant for the Lawcus project.
