Melanie Merlin de Andrade

Dr. Melanie Merlin de Andrade is a Visiting Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory, specializing in multidisciplinary legal theory and the history of law. Her research interrogates the universality of legal frameworks through the lens of cultural translation, particularly in postcolonial Brazil.

• Doctorate in Philosophy and Legal Theory (Focus: Law of Social Relations), Federal University of Paraná, Brazil (2020)
• Master in Law, Federal University of Paraná, Brazil (2013)
• Bachelor of Law, Faculty of Law, Curitiba, Brazil (2007)

Her project Devouring Legal Theory: Cultural Legal Translations in Brazil as Anthropophagia analyzes the reinterpretation of German legal theories (Hans Kelsen, Robert Alexy) in Brazil, linking this process to the Modernism art movement and the metaphor of anthropophagy. This work challenges the notion of legal theory as universal, emphasizing its cultural specificity.

She has contributed to academic discussions through awards like the First Scientific Essay Competition of CPJ/AMB (2020) and the IX Latin American Convention on Law CEDDAL (2011). Her expertise spans legal philosophy, human rights, and race relations, as recognized by the State Court of Paraná (2022).