“The work brings together important works on public civil action, studying it in the most varied aspects, not only from the doctrinal perspective, but also from the political and pragmatic vicissitudes. They will undoubtedly be of great importance for a better knowledge of this fantastic instrument of access to Justice and the practice of participatory democracy, and will be indispensable for the deepening of studies on the subject by professors, law practitioners, university students, and all interested and active members of our civil society.Over the 20 years that Law 7.347/85 has been in effect, the portentous instrument of participatory democracy has gained more definitive contours, a solid doctrinal base has been built, and a more mature jurisprudence that honors the major purposes intended by the legislator is in evolution and in a phase of consolidation, with divergent norms and some conceptual imprecisions.This work will certainly serve, not only for the improvement and deepening of studies on public civil action, but also, and this is of great relevance, for a greater union among all those who consider it one of the most important political advances of recent times, for a vigilant and permanent defense against new attacks to disfigure it.(From the Foreword, by Kazuo Watanabe)