THE LEGAL SYSTEM OF THE BRAZILIAN SPELEOLOGICAL PATRIMONY

Resumo

The 1988 Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil has dedicated an entire chapter to assure the protection of the environment, according to the text of article 225. From the broad list of spaces protected by the Constitution, we will analyze, on the present work, the so-called subterranean natural cavities, also known as caves, and their respective legal system. Indeed, this study identifies and analyzes the main judicial rules (of constitutional and infra-constitutional nature) related to the caves, allowing the delimitation of a legal system applicable to the protection of the national speleological patrimony, which shelters priceless treasures, essential to the comprehension of history, and, eventually, of the own trajectory of men on the planet.