Brazil’s judiciary is structured as a federal republic operating within the civil law tradition, heavily influenced by Portuguese, French, and German law. The system is governed by a long and detailed Constitution – the world’s third longest! – which was created in 1988. The constitution heavily promotes democracy and social rights as a response to the repression experienced during the country’s military dictatorship, which lasted from 1964 until 1985.
Brazil’s legal system is primarily based on codified statutes and legislation rather than judicial precedent, as is the case in common law systems. However, recently, Brazil’s legal system also includes ‘súmulas vinculantes’, binding summaries that consolidate the Supreme Court’s understanding of a given constitutional matter.
The judiciary is a multifaceted system that operates on the federal and state levels, much like the USA’s judicial system. Cases are divided into several different jurisdictions, including civil, criminal, labour, tax, electoral, military, environmental, constitutional, and non-constitutional. The system also includes three instances of appeal, with cases able to advance from first-level courts all the way to either the Supreme Federal Court, which safeguards the Constitution, or the Superior Court of Justice, which interprets federal law.
Brazil is an extremely litigious jurisdiction, with one of the highest numbers of lawsuits per capita globally and one of the highest ratios of lawyers to the population – there are an estimated 80 million active cases in the country at present! The country’s legal process is slow due to all the bureaucratic procedures and a backlog of cases. Civil cases tend to take several years to conclude, often five to ten years or more, depending on the number of appeals involved and criminal cases also tend to be lengthy, around one to three years for lesser crimes and much longer for more serious crimes. Labour cases tend to be quicker, with most resolved within six months to two years; however, this again depends on the complexity of the case and the caseload in the court hearing the case. To help mitigate the situation, courts and law firms are implementing AI and other advanced technologies to analyse pleadings, suggest decisions, and streamline processes to reduce the backlog.
The number and types of appeals in Brazil also make the court proceedings quite technical and complex, as appeals are often layered. Appeals can be divided into ordinary, extraordinary, and internal appeals. The ordinary appeals are the main appeal against a first-instance judge’s final decision, which takes place in a state or federal court of appeals; appeals challenging an interlocutory decision; and appeals used to clarify, correct omissions, contradictions, or obscurities in a judgment. Extraordinary appeals are appeals taken to the Superior Court of Justice when a decision violates federal law or there are conflicting precedents between courts, and those brought to the Supreme Court if a decision violates the Constitution. Internal appeals exist within a higher court when a single justice, rather than the full panel of justices, makes a decision and the losing party requests a full chamber review.
Furthermore, special appeals are possible when different panels of the same higher court issue conflicting decisions and a request for unification is made, or when a direct appeal to the Supreme Court is made regarding specific constitutional cases.
This all creates a situation in which the Brazilian Supreme Court is overwhelmed with cases to rule on. As a comparison, The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom receives around 200-250 new cases per year, whereas in 2023, the Brazilian Supreme Court received approximately 90,000 new cases.
The Brazilian Supreme Court is composed of eleven judges (called ministers) who often function as a single group but are divided into two smaller chambers of five judges each for certain cases, as a way to increase the number of cases judged. The President of the Supreme Court, chosen from the eleven members to serve a two-year term, does not sit in these chambers.
The Brazilian President has the authority to nominate a candidate to the Supreme Court whenever a seat becomes vacant. The candidate must be a native-born Brazilian, aged between 35 and 65 years, and possess a notable level of legal knowledge. Justices serve until the mandatory retirement age of 75.
Arbitration in Brazil
In the last few years, Brazil has become increasingly international when it comes to private commercial disputes. The country was a genuinely domestic practice until some years ago, with cases filed before local state courts, governed by Brazilian law, involving Brazilian parties. But, due to the growth in the number of Brazilian companies doing business in foreign jurisdictions and the increase in foreign investments in the local economy, there has been a radical reshaping in the way cases are litigated in the country.
Many commercial contracts involving Brazilian parties and foreign counterparts have come to be governed by foreign law, primarily English or USA laws. Foreign companies’ reluctance to subject themselves to the Brazilian court system stems from a mix of reasons including the slow proceedings described above, complex legal procedures that can feel burdensome, uncertainty of the outcomes due to variations in interpretation of the law, a risk of local bias with the local judges favouring domestic parties, and the fact that even after a favourable ruling, enforcing judgments can involve further delays.
As a result, the mechanism for resolving disputes has shifted significantly from court proceedings to arbitration proceedings.
The arbitrators are appointed in a manner previously agreed upon by the parties in the contract, all in accordance with the 1996 Brazilian Arbitration Act and its 2015 amendments. Due to this Act, it is believed that arbitration in Brazil is a solid and reliable mechanism of resolving disputes internationally and even some at the domestic level.
Case studies
Below are outlined some case studies on the workings of the Brazilian judicial system:
Brazil’s Longest Running Court Case
Brazil’s longest-running court case finally ended in 2020 after running for 125 years! Filed in 1895, the case involved a dispute over the Palácio Guanabara, a palace which is now the official seat of the government of the State of Rio de Janeiro. The palace was purchased in 1864 by the Brazilian imperial family, the House of Braganza-Brazil. It remained in their possession until the proclamation of the Republic in 1889, when it was confiscated by the new republican government and transferred to the Union. In 1895, the House of Braganza-Brazil filed a lawsuit for possession of the palace. The case was finally closed by a ruling of the Supreme Federal Court on 28 August 2020 in favour of the Union, with no indemnity owed to the descendants of the former royal family.
Operation Car Wash
Perhaps the most talked-about court cases in Brazil are those connected to the Operation Car Wash (Operação Lava Jato), the country’s most extensive corruption investigation that took place from 2014 to 2021. It uncovered a vast network of corruption involving the state-run oil company Petrobras, major construction firms such as Odebrecht, and numerous politicians. Companies were accused of paying millions in bribes to secure inflated government contracts, with kickbacks funnelled to political parties and their leaders.
Operation Car Wash gave rise to approximately 180 criminal court cases with about 174 convictions across the first and second instance courts. Many of the convictions included lengthy prison sentences, such as the one handed down to Brazil’s current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was handed a 12 year prison sentence in one court case for accepting bribes and nearly 13 years in another court case for corruption and money laundering; and the former CEO of Odebrecht, Marcelo Odebrecht, who was sentenced to over 19 years in prison. Lula’s convictions were all voided by the Supreme Court which ruled that Judge Sérgio Moro, the main judge in Operation Car Wash, was biased in Lula’s case and was in collusion with the prosecutors. Marcelo Odebrecht’s convictions, also for corruption and money laundering, were also annulled by the Supreme Court for the same reason.
The most significant number of convictions, dozens in over 20 separate criminal cases, were handed to Sérgio Cabral Filho, who served as the governor of Rio de Janeiro from 2007 to 2014. He received prison sentences totalling over 400 years for corruption, racketeering, embezzlement, and money laundering. He was detained for about six years and in December 2022 was moved to house arrest, pending appeals.
Some of Cabral’s convictions were annulled as the judge handling them, Marcelo Bretas, was found to have lacked jurisdiction in the cases. These included the annulment of his sentence for collaborating to bribe the International Olympic Committee officials in the vote-buying scheme tied to Rio de Janeiro’s bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
House arrest instead of prison is provided for under Brazilian law for those over 70 years of age, pregnant women, mothers of young children, and those with serious health conditions. This is often coupled with electronic monitoring via an ankle bracelet. Other notable cases of people currently under house arrest are two of Brazil’s former Presidents, Jair Messias Bolsonaro, just recently convicted for an attempted coup, and Fernando Collor de Mello, convicted in 2023 for corruption and money laundering.
Trial of Brazil’s ex-President Jair Bolsonaro
The most notable court case this year has been the trial of Jair Bolsonaro, accused of plotting a coup d’état following his 2022 election loss to Lula, in which he and his allies questioned the legitimacy of the electronic voting system. In November 2024, the Federal Police formally accused Bolsonaro and 36 others of an attempt to overthrow Brazil’s democratic institutions, including planning the assassination of President-elect Lula, his vice president, and the Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Morais; and the shutting down of several government institutions. The plot culminated on 8 January 2023, a week after Lula’s inauguration, when a mob of Bolsonaro supporters, seeking to overthrow the democratically elected president, attacked and invaded Brazil’s federal government buildings in Brasília, including the Supreme Court, the National Congress, and the Planalto Presidential Palace. The coup ultimately failed and resulted in the arrest of at least 1,418 people, with many later charged with vandalism against public property, participation in a criminal armed organisation, and/or insurrection.
Bolsonaro and seven others, including a former Minister of Defence and a former Navy Commander, were formally indicted by the Attorney-General in February 2025. A few months later, in September 2025, they were tried by the Supreme Court for attempting to violently abolish democracy, organising a coup, damaging government buildings and protected heritage, and more.
The decision was not unanimous, with one of the five justices, Luiz Fux, dissenting, raising issues about the evidence and the court’s jurisdiction. The remaining four justices found all eight defendants guilty, with Bolsonaro receiving a prison sentence of 27 years and 3 months. His defence team has stated that they will appeal the verdict, likely challenging the fact that the case was heard by the 1st Chamber of the Supreme Court, which comprises five judges, rather than the full Supreme Court of 11 judges. As of now, Bolsonaro continues to be under house arrest.
In Congress, amnesty for Bolsonaro is already being discussed. There, a bill that could grant amnesty to people convicted of the 8 January 2023 riots has been fast-tracked. This amnesty would shield Bolsonaro and others from the legal consequences of the convictions; many see this as undermining the rule of law and accountability. Large protests against this bill have taken place across Brazil. It is unlikely that the bill will pass in its current version; a more probable outcome is a watered-down version that would reduce the sentences handed down.
Overview of the Brazilian Legal System
Overall, there is no doubt that the Brazilian legal system has strengths, including strong constitutional protections provided by the detailed Constitution; progressive social policies with laws addressing labour rights, indigenous rights, racial equality, and environmental protection; as well as judicial independence, where, in principle, the judiciary has autonomy.
But it also has weaknesses including overcomplexity caused by a vast number of laws, decrees, and regulations at federal, state, and municipal levels that are often overlapping and contradictory; a slow justice system where cases can take years, even decades, to resolve, resulting at times in perceptions of impunity by those who can afford to ‘drag out’ the legal system; inequality in enforcement, with the laws being progressive on paper but with enforcement often favouring the wealthy and powerful; and corruption and bureaucracy whereby legal processes can be hindered by political influence and administrative inefficiency.
Brazil’s laws are progressive and protective in theory, but implementation and enforcement pose significant challenges!
This analysis is a contribution made by Geraldine O’Keeffe, Operations Director at SET Advisory and a graduate of the University of São Paulo School of Law.