Brazil
Brazil’s courts are overburdened with litigants at numbers that are hard to imagine. The National Council of Justice has reported that Brazilian courts have one hundred and eight million ongoing lawsuits. With a population of 200 million, these numbers suggest that every Brazilian is potentially involved in ongoing litigation. The judicial system is collapsing, and even a simple lawsuit may last 10 years, on average.
Mediation is understood as a potential savior, and the Brazilian legislature has passed significant legislation favoring mediation as a consequence.
SENIOR FELLOWS – BRAZIL
Etiene Martins is a federal judge serving in the District of São Paulo Brazil and led a court-annexed mediation program in Guarulhos Courthouse in greater São Paulo from 2016 to 2018.
Gabriela Ourivio Assmar is a full-time mediator with over twenty years of experience and a recognized pioneer in the development of conflict resolution techniques in Brazil.
Mariana Freitas de Souza is a lawyer and mediator and serves as director of the Brazilian Center of Mediation and Arbitration (CBMA), a pioneering private mediation and arbitration center in Rio de Janeiro.
