Brazil

• The Federal Constitution of 1988, the highest law
• Federal codes and statutes, such as the Civil Code, the Penal Code and the Code of Civil Procedure
• Binding and guiding decisions of the top courts, which carry growing weight
• Scholarly writing (doutrina), which is influential

• The Federal Supreme Court (STF) decides constitutional questions
• The Superior Court of Justice (STJ) is the top court for federal (non-constitutional) law
• State courts and federal courts below them, plus separate labour, electoral and military courts

A five-year law degree, then the national bar exam run by the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB), then registration with the OAB.

• Any judge can decide that a law is unconstitutional in a case, and the Federal Supreme Court can also strike laws down for everyone.
• Labour disputes go to their own system of labour courts.
• The Constitution is very long and covers many details that other countries leave to ordinary law.
• Brazil's private law draws on Portuguese, French and German models.

Portugal, Argentina, Mexico, Spain, Italy

The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Brazil as: Civil law. It names the systems in order of importance.

The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.

Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso.

• Supreme Federal Court of Brazil
• Brazilian Bar Association (OAB)

Sources last reviewed: October 2026.