Collective Litigation and Due Process of Law: The Brazilian Experience

Abstract

This essay deals with the Brazilian experience in tort litigation about collective and mass rights. It offers a view of the Brazilian law on this subject and of the court's trends in managing these cases it also establishes the basis for the Brazilian approach to the collective due process of law, and debates the solutions found for major problems in the lights of that principle. Trying to offer a panoramic view of Brazilian experience in this field, the article aims to highlight the principal concerns of and obstacles to collective redress in this country.

Keywords: collective rights; mass rights; tort litigation; due process of law; structural injunctions; fluid recovery; 'in utilibus' transportation; public funds; damages; compensatory damages; punitive damages; quantum of damages