Brazilian Small Claims Courts and Effectivennes of Justice: An Empirical Research

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to assess the guarantee of qualified access to justice (article 5, items XXXV, and LXVIII, of the Federal Constitution) promoted by the State Special Civil Courts, and has been guided by three parameters: effectiveness, adequacy and reasonable length of process. The grounds for such analysis is based on empirical data, new in their majority, gathered from the data in the National Research on Special Civil Courts of the CEBEPEJ (Brazilian Center for Legal Studies and Research) and intents to objectively gauge the quality of services offered in the Small Claims Courts to the population. First of all, the paper develops the overview of the Special Civil Courts, describing its origins, purposes and main characteristics. As from this introductory explanation and from the preparation of theoretical-explanatory models, the subsequent sections assess the empirical data on the Special Civil Courts. Section II investigates the adequacy of services offered by the Small Claims Courts, by means of its operation in the settlement, further investigating the influence of the nature of the demand and composition of litigants in the settlement rates obtained. Section III deals with the timelines for lawsuits as they progress in Courts, making contrasts with the legally established terms. Finally, Section IV examines the effectiveness of the Special Courts, aiming at quantifying the cases in that, at the end of the lawsuits, the party in fact receives the resources to which such party is entitled - be it due to a favorable decision, or arising from an amicable agreement.