BRAZIL Law and Practice Contributed by: João Areosa, Guilherme Peres de Oliveira and Raphael Rangel, Areosa Advogados
1.3 Implementation of the EU Collective Redress Regime Not applicable. Brazil is not a member of the Euro- pean Union and therefore does not implement EU directives. However, Brazilian legal scholars and policymakers monitor EU developments in collective redress as a form of comparative law that may inform future reforms. 2. Legal Framework 2.1 Collective Redress and Class Action Legislation The Brazilian collective redress system is governed by a series of complementary statutes that, when taken together, form a comprehensive framework: Statute 7.347/1985 (Public Civil Action Act – LACP) This foundational statute establishes the procedural framework for civil actions aimed at protecting dif- fuse and collective interests. It covers environmen- tal protection, consumer rights, cultural and artistic heritage, urban planning, economic order and other collective interests. The LACP applies to actions seek- ing injunctive relief, compensatory damages, or both. It establishes fundamental rules regarding standing, jurisdiction, injunctions, damages and remedies. The LACP has undergone several amendments to broaden its scope and modernise its procedures. Statute 8.078/1990 (Consumer Defence Code – CDC) The CDC comprehensively regulates consumer rela- tions and includes extensive provisions on collective defence of consumer rights. It established the foun- dational classification of collective rights into diffuse, collective and individual homogeneous categories, which now applies beyond consumer law to all col- lective litigation. The CDC’s procedural provisions complement and expand upon the LACP, creating an integrated system. Articles 81–104 specifically address the collective defence of consumer rights, while other provisions establish substantive consumer protections that are frequently enforced through col- lective actions.
Statute 13.105/2015 (Civil Procedure Code – CPC/2015) The current procedure code contains provisions appli- cable to collective actions, including rules on joinder of parties, concurrent jurisdiction and special proce- dures. Notably, it established the “incident of resolu- tion of repetitive demands” (IRDR), a mechanism to address mass litigation involving repetitive legal issues by selecting representative cases and creating bind- ing precedents. The CPC also oversees representative appeals ( recursos repetitivos ), with the aim of creat- ing precedents in appellate courts, and it establishes modern case management powers for judges. Statute 12.529/2011 (Competition Defence Act) This statute governs antitrust enforcement in Brazil and includes provisions for collective actions seeking damages from competition law violations. It addresses both standalone actions (independent of prior admin- istrative findings) and follow-on actions (based on decisions by the Administrative Council for Economic Defence – CADE). The law co-ordinates administrative enforcement with private litigation, establishing rules on burden of proof, passing-on defence and damages calculation in competition cases. Statute 13.709/2018 (General Data Protection Law – LGPD) Brazil’s data protection law, modelled partly on the EU’s GDPR, establishes rights for data subjects and obligations for data controllers. It provides for both administrative enforcement by the National Data Pro- tection Authority (ANPD) and judicial remedies, includ- ing collective actions for data breaches and privacy violations. The LGPD is becoming increasingly impor- tant for collective litigation involving technology com- panies and data processors. Statute 8.429/1992 (Administrative Improbity Act) This law governs actions against public officials and private parties for acts of administrative misconduct. While these actions centre on issues of corruption and public administration, they frequently serve to protect collective interests and adhere to procedur- al rules similar to those observed in other collective actions. Recent reforms (Law 14.230/2021) modified the improbity framework while maintaining collective action mechanisms.
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