Dr Renato Costa
Associate Lecturer & Associate Editor, The University of Queensland Law Journal & Lecturer
TC Beirne School of Law
Affiliate of Centre for Public, International and Comparative Law
Centre for Public, International and Comparative Law
HDR project title: The Nature of Constitutions: A Theory of Genuine and Pseudo Constitutionalism
Supervisors: Prof Nicholas Aroney and Dr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh
Researcher biography
Dr Renato Costa joined the T. C. Beirne School of Law as an LLM student in 2018. Before undertaking his studies at the University of Queensland, he practised as a lawyer in one of Brazil's most prominent law firms. Renato specialises in constitutional and comparative law.
Renato graduated with an LLB from the Faculty of Law at the Catholic University of Pernambuco, in Brazil. He holds a PhD and an LLM from T.C. Beirne School of Law at the University of Queensland. Renato is the Associate Editor of the University of Queensland Law Journal - UQLJ. He teaches Public and Constitutional Law and has been a guest lecturer in courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Renato's main research area is public law, including constitutional, administrative, and comparative law. His research focus is constitutional theory and specific aspects of the Australian constitutional system, including but not limited to the rule of law, federalism, constitutional history, religious freedom and human rights, responsible government, political and legal theology, and jurisprudence.
Publications
Book
Costa, Renato and Cunha, Bruno Santos (2024). Raízes do Federalismo Australiano: discursos selecionados de Sir Henry Parkes. São Paulo, Brazil: Editora Contracorrente.
Book Chapters
de Queiroz Barboza, Estefania Maria, Buss, Gustavo, Costa, Renato and Santos Cunha, Bruno (2024). Brazil. The 2023 Global Review of Constitutional Law. (pp. 61-66) edited by Richard Albert, David Landau, Pietro Faraguna and Giulia de Rossi Andrade. Austin, TX, United States: University of Texas.
Costa, Renato (2024). A Constituição Federativa da Austrália: Um Guia. Raízes do Federalismo Australiano: Discursos selecionados de Sir Henry Parkes e tradução da Constituição Federativa da Austrália de 1901. (pp. 111-125) edited by Renato Costa and Bruno Santos Cunha. São Paulo, Brasil: Editora Contracorrente.
Costa, Renato (2024). O Pai do Federalismo Australiano: Uma Breve Introdução à Vida e à Opinião Política de Sir Henry Parkes. Raízes do Federalismo Australiano: Discursos selecionados de Sir Henry Parkes e tradução da Constituição Federativa da Austrália de 1901. (pp. 21-32) edited by Renato Costa and Bruno Santos Cunha. São Paulo, Brasil: Editora Contracorrente.
Costa, Renato S.M., Santos Cunha, Bruno, de Queiroz Barboza, Estefania Maria and Buss, Gustavo (2023). Brazil. The 2022 Global Review of Constitutional Law. (pp. 74-78) edited by Richard Albert, David Landau, Pietro Faraguna and Giulia Andrade. Austin, TX United States: University of Texas.
Martins, Ana Paula Antunes, Faria, Cristina Elsner de, Ribeiro, Henrique Marques and Costa, Renato Saeger Magalhaes (2020). The federative pact and prevention policies to face violence against women: a compared approach between Brazil and Australia. Reflections on prevention policies for gender based violence against women and girls: debates in Brazil and Australia. (pp. 21-32) edited by Tiago Pierobom de Ávila, Aline Yamamoto, Cristina Elsner de Faria, Jude McCulloch and Kerry Carrington. Brasilia, DF: UN Women: MPDFT.
Journal Articles
Costa, Renato (2025). Law and reality: a dialogue between Herman Dooyeweerd and John Finnis. The Western Australian Jurist, 13 2.
Costa, Renato (2024). John Finnis and the central case constitution. Journal of Legal Philosophy, 49 (1), 25-49. doi: 10.4337/jlp.2024.01.02
Costa, Renato Saeger Magalhães (2024). Rethinking constitutional ontology : A critical analysis of Karl Loewenstein’s “ontological classification of constitutions”. Revus, 2024 (52). doi: 10.4000/revus.9956
Saeger Magalhaes Costa, Renato (2023). A Critical Book Review of Adrian Vermeule's Common Good Constitutionalism. Public Law Review, 34 (1), 78-78.
Costa, Renato Saeger M. (2023). Common Good Constitutionalism (1st ed). Public Law Review, 34 (1), 78-83.
Costa, Renato Saeger M. (2022). Free to Teach: State Limits and the Protection of Private Schools Religious Liberties. Dignitas: International Journal of the Brazilian Institute of Law and Religion, 2 (2), 33-80. doi: 10.37951/dignitas.2021.v2i2.62
Costa, Renato Saeger M. (2021). Book review: Constitutional idolatry and democracy: challenging the infatuation with writtenness. The University of Queensland Law Journal, 40 (2), 301-305. doi: 10.38127/uqlj.v40i2.5689
Saeger Magalhaes Costa, Renato (2019). A sphere sovereignty theory of the state: looking back and looking forward. International and Public Affairs, 3 (1), 13-19. doi: 10.11648/j.ipa.20190301.13
Costa, Renato Saeger Magalhães (2017). Autonomia técnica do agu à luz do dever de defesa da lei ou ato normativo impugnado em controle de constitucionalidade perante o STF. Revista da Agu, 16 (3), 267-286. doi: 10.25109/2525-328x.v.16.n.03.2017.946
Costa, Renato Saeger Magalhães and Afonso, Marcelo Santiago de Morais (2017). O atraso doloso na prestação de contas como ato de improbidade administrativa. Boletim de Direito Administrativo, 33 (8), 737-740.
Costa, Renato Saeger Magalhães (2017). Tribunais de Contas municipais e dos municípios: repercussões jurídicas oriundas do artigo 31, §4, da Constituição Federal. Revista Digital de Direito Administrativo, 4 (2), 200-215. doi: 10.11606/issn.2319-0558.v4n2p200-215
Costa, Renato Saeger Magalhães and Régis de Carvalho, Bruno L. P. (2016). A legalidade do transporte privado individual de passageiros e seus contornos jurídicos. Boletim de Direito Municipal, 697-701.
Cunha, Bruno Santos, Deák, Renato de Albuquerque and Costa, Renato Saeger Magalhães (2016). Da possibilidade de o Município, por meio de lei própria, vedar a participação de licitante penalizado em esfera federativa distinta com base no art. 87, inc. III, da Lei Federal de Licitações. Boletim de Licitações e Contratos, 29 (7), 652-656.
Costa, Renato Saeger Magalhães (2015). A culpa como elemento subjetivo do ato de improbidade administrativa. Boletim de Direito Municipal, 854-864.
Cunha, Bruno Santos and Costa, Renato Saeger Magalhães (2014). Licitações exclusivas para microempresas e empresas de pequeno porte. Revista Controle - Doutrina e Artigos, 12 (2), 59-76. doi: 10.32586/rcda.v12i2.42
Cunha, Bruno Santos and Costa, Renato Saeger Magalhães (2014). Organizações sociais e contratação de pessoal: características e objetivos precípuos. Revista Controle - Doutrina e Artigos, 12 (1), 56-68. doi: 10.32586/rcda.v12i1.186
Costa, Renato Saeger Magalhães (2014). A imprescindibilidade da má-fé para a configuração dos atos de improbidade administrativa. Revista Digital de Direito Administrativo, 1 (2), 490-505. doi: 10.11606/issn.2319-0558.v1i2p490-505
Conference Papers
Costa, Renato (2025). Althusius's Federal Constitutionalism. ICON-S Australia/NZ Constitutional Theory Group Biennial Conference, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 23-24 January 2025.
Costa, Renato (2024). Constitutionalism in Althusius' Politica. Colloque International L'Actualite de la Politique de Johannes Althusius, Paris, France, 12-13 November 2024.
Costa, Renato (2024). The roots of federalism in Australia and Brazil. Federalismo Comparado: Austrália e Brasil / Comparative Federalism: Australia and Brazil, Online, 3 October 2024. Online: Aussie Law.
Costa, Renato (2024). The 'Invincible Bulwark' of Constitutions. Theology and Jurisprudence Symposium, Toowoomba, QLD, Australia, 9 February 2024.
Costa, Renato (2023). Cultural, social, and territorial federalism revisited. Vi International Scientific Conference: Federalism in Contemporary Public Law, Moscow, Russia, 7-17 November 2023.
Costa, Renato (2023). Three instances of pseudo constitutions. ICONS - International Society of Public Law Annual Conference, Wellington, New Zealand, 3-5 July 2023.
Costa, Renato (2023). Constitutional change and the basic structure of the Constitution: can Australia become a republic?. ICONS - International Society of Public Law Annual Conference, Wellington, New Zealand, 3-5 July 2023.
Renato Saeger M Costa (2022). Beyond Zoom Meetings: The Experience of Teaching Law on YouTube. 2022 Australasian Legal Academics Association Conference, Melbourne, VIC Australia, 7-9 July 2022.
Costa, Renato S. M. (2022). The nature of constitutions and the doctrine of the basic structure of constitutions. ICON-S Annual Conference, Wroclaw, Poland, 4-6 July 2022.
Costa, Renato S.M. (2022). Federalism in Australia. Brazil-Australia: Webinars on Gender and Family Violence Against Women, Online, 26 April 2022. MPDFT.
Costa, Renato Saeger M. (2021). Federalism as a Stone Clause. Federalism in Contemporary Public Law: Comparative Federalism, Moscow, Russia, 11 November 2021.
Chaplin, Jonathan and Costa, Renato S. M. (2021). Response to Jonathan Chaplin's Idea of “Jurisdictional Secularism”. Faith in Democracy - A Series of Webinars with Jonathan Chaplin, London, United Kingdom, 30 September, 14, 28 October 2021.
Costa, Renato Saeger M. (2020). The Meaning of Legitimacy and Constitutional Change in Karl Loewenstein's Ontological Classification of Constitutions. Constitution-Making and Constitutional Change, Austin, TX United States, 17-18 January 2020.
Research Report
Taylor, Paul and Costa, Renato (2024). Submission to the Department of Health and Aged Care on the December 2023 Exposure Draft of the Aged Care Bill 2023 . Brisbane, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland.
Thesis
Saeger Magalhaes Costa, Renato (2024). The Nature of Constitutions: A Theory of Genuine and Pseudo Constitutions. PhD Thesis, School of Law, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/a1c2aee
Generic Document
Newspaper Articles
Santos Cunha, Bruno and Costa, Renato (2025, 03 28). A symbol of faith or culture? Brazil’s constitutional dilemma TalkAbout Blog
Costa, Renato Saeger M. (2022, 09 29). The speck in the Prime Minister’s eyes: secrecy and responsible government in Australia I·CONnect Blog
Costa, Renato Saeger Magalhães and Régis de Carvalho, Bruno L. P. (2016, 08 05). Afinal, o Uber é legal? Jornal do Commercio
Costa, Renato Saeger Magalhães (2015, 08 03). O que é o fenômeno da abstrativização do controle concreto de constitucionalidade? Conteúdo Jurídico
Costa, Renato Saeger Magalhães (2014, 11 28). Ações possessórias em bem público Revista Jus Navigandi
Seminar Papers
Costa, Renato (2024). Brazil's Federal Constitutions: Can a leopard change its spots?. Developments in Comparative Constitutional Law. Australian Association of Constitutional Law, Queensland Chapter.
Costa, Renato (2023). What is a Pseudo Constitution?. Australian Legal Philosophy Students Association (eSeminar).