Law of BrazilModule 1
Foundations of Brazilian law: Portuguese colonial law, independence and the Empire, the Republic and its Constitutions, the Constitution of 1988, the sources and hierarchy of law, the civil law tradition and legal pluralism
Brazil is a federal republic with a civil law system and one of the most detailed constitutions in the world. Its law grew from Portuguese colonial law, continued through independence in 1822 and the Empire, and became republican in 1889. The Constitution of 1988, written after the military regime, is the foundation of the whole order: it sets up the institutions, lists extensive rights, including social rights, and requires every law to be read in the light of its principles. Beneath it stand constitutional amendments, complementary and ordinary laws, provisional measures, treaties, regulations and binding precedent. Codes remain central to private law, criminal law and procedure. The Constitution also recognises indigenous peoples and quilombola communities. For an outsider, the useful skill is to know which source answers a question and which level of government made it.
This course explains the law of Brazil, not US law. Rules that look the same elsewhere may be different.
By the end of this module you can
- Describe the history that shaped Brazilian law, from colonial rule to the Constitution of 1988.
- Explain the hierarchy of sources: the Constitution, amendments, laws, treaties and precedent.
- Explain how human rights treaties can have constitutional rank.
- Explain what codification means and why the Constitution shapes all law.
- Explain how legal pluralism works for indigenous and traditional communities.
Part 1. The lecture
History: from colony to the Constitution of 1988
Colonial law. Portuguese settlement began in 1500. Portuguese law applied, above all the Philippine Ordinances of the early seventeenth century, which stayed in force in private law until the first Civil Code of 1916. The system was Roman-Portuguese civil law: written statutes, learned jurists and royal courts, with slavery as an economic institution until its abolition in 1888.
Independence and the Republic. Independence was declared in 1822, and the Constitution of 1824 created an Empire with a hereditary monarch. The Republic was proclaimed in 1889, and Brazil has had several constitutions since, in 1891, 1934, 1937, 1946, 1967 and 1988, some of them written under authoritarian rule. The Civil Code of 1916, drafted by Clóvis Beviláqua, was replaced by the Civil Code of 2002, which is still in force.
The Constitution of 1988. After the end of the military regime (1964 to 1985), a Constituent Assembly wrote the Constitution of 1988, called the Citizen Constitution. It is very long: it sets up a democratic federal republic, protects individual and collective rights, grants social rights (education, health, work, social security, housing) and regulates the economy, the environment and indigenous peoples. It has been amended many times, so the current text must always be checked.
Sources of law and their hierarchy
The hierarchy. The Constitution is the highest norm, and its amendments (emendas constitucionais) share its rank. Next come the complementary laws (which need an absolute majority and regulate subjects the Constitution reserves to them) and ordinary laws, with the same level as provisional measures (medidas provisórias, decrees with the force of law that the President may issue in urgent cases and that Congress must convert) and delegated laws. Below them are decrees and regulations, and the rules of regulatory agencies. A norm that conflicts with the Constitution can be declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Federal Court.
Treaties and precedent. Treaties are signed by the President, approved by Congress and promulgated by decree. Human rights treaties approved with a three-fifths vote in each house, in two rounds, have the rank of constitutional amendments (Article 5, paragraph 3); other human rights treaties have been treated by the Supreme Federal Court as above ordinary laws but below the Constitution. Judicial precedent is gaining weight: the Supreme Federal Court can issue binding statements (súmulas vinculantes), and the Code of Civil Procedure of 2015 gives precedent greater force. Custom and doctrine are secondary sources.
| Source | What it is | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| The Constitution and its amendments | The Constitution of 1988, as amended | Highest norm |
| Treaties | Signed by the President, approved by Congress and promulgated | Constitutional rank for human rights treaties approved with a special majority; otherwise below the Constitution |
| Complementary and ordinary laws | Laws of the National Congress | Below the Constitution |
| Provisional measures | Presidential decrees with the force of law, to be converted by Congress | Same level as ordinary laws, for a limited time |
| Regulations and agency rules | Decrees and rules that apply laws | Below laws |
| Precedent | Binding statements and precedent of the superior courts | Binding where the law provides |
The civil law tradition and legal pluralism
Civil law in practice. Private law is codified in the Civil Code of 2002, with separate codes for criminal law (1940), criminal procedure (1941), civil procedure (2015) and consumer protection (1990). The Law of Introduction to the Norms of Brazilian Law sets general rules on how laws apply, including conflict of laws. The Constitution is not only a political text: its principles (human dignity, equality, social function of property and of contracts) shape how courts read the codes, a feature often called the constitutionalisation of private law. A reform of the Civil Code has been under discussion in the Senate and its text is not final.
Legal pluralism. The Constitution recognises the social organisation, customs, languages, beliefs and traditions of indigenous peoples and their original rights over the lands they traditionally occupy (Article 231), and gives property titles to the remaining quilombola communities (communities formed by descendants of enslaved people). Traditional communities are also recognised in federal decrees. Module 3 explains how this works in practice.
- Check the level. Ask whether the answer comes from the Constitution, a federal law, a state law or a municipal rule.
- Check the date. The Constitution and many laws were reformed recently, for example the labour reform of 2017, the tax reform of 2023 to 2026 and the proposed Civil Code reform.
- Check the language. Official documents and court proceedings are in Portuguese; foreign documents usually need a sworn translation.
Worked example (invented)
Ingrid, a Swedish consultant, is told by an official that a rule about business hours ‘comes from the city’. She wonders whether a federal law could override it.
Which source? Matters of local interest, such as many business hours and permits, belong to the municipality, while the Union sets national rules on other subjects.
Which ranks higher? The Constitution first, then federal laws within their sphere; a city rule cannot contradict them.
Result: She should find the federal law, the state law and the municipal rule and read them together, and ask a Brazilian lawyer.
Part 2. Lab: Which Source?
Sort each item by the kind of source of law it belongs to.
Situation 1 of 6
Article 5 on fundamental rights
Where does this belong?
Part 3. Lab: What Ranks First?
Choose the best answer in each situation.
Situation 1 of 3
An ordinary law conflicts with the Constitution.
Which prevails?
Part 4. Lab: Spot the Mistake
Click the statements that misstate Brazilian law.
A newcomer’s notes
Click every sentence that causes a problem, then press Check. There may be 3 problems, and some sentences are fine.
Part 5. Check your understanding
Ten questions drawn from a larger pool. Sign in to have your score saved towards your certificate.
You have finished the free module
Here is what you can do now, and where the course goes next
Module 1 gave you
- Describe the history that shaped Brazilian law, from colonial rule to the Constitution of 1988.
- Explain the hierarchy of sources: the Constitution, amendments, laws, treaties and precedent.
- Explain how human rights treaties can have constitutional rank.
- Explain what codification means and why the Constitution shapes all law.
- Explain how legal pluralism works for indigenous and traditional communities.
Next, 7 more modules and a capstone
- Module 2: The Constitution and the federal institutions: the democratic republic, the President, the National Congress, how a law is made, the public administration and electionsYou will learn to explain the principles of the republic and the separation of powers.
- Module 3: Federalism, states, municipalities and indigenous law: the Union, the states, the Federal District and the municipalities, competences, indigenous peoples, quilombola and traditional communities and prior consultationYou will learn to explain how powers are divided between the Union, states, Federal District and municipalities.
- Module 4: Courts and the legal professions: the Supreme Federal Court, the Superior Court of Justice, federal and state courts, the specialised jurisdictions, the National Council of Justice and the legal professionsYou will learn to describe the court hierarchy and the role of the STF and the STJ.
- Module 5: Rights, citizenship and constitutional remedies: fundamental and social rights, nationality and foreigners, habeas corpus and the mandado de segurança, administrative law and public integrityYou will learn to list the main fundamental and social rights and who holds them.
- Module 6: Contract, land, family and succession: the Civil Code, contracts and remedies, civil liability, property and the registry, foreigners and rural land, marriage and stable union, wills and inheritance
- Module 7: Business, employment and tax: companies, setting up and foreign investment, competition and consumers, labour law and the labour courts, and the tax system and its reform
- Module 8: Criminal justice and specialised fields: the Penal Code and procedure, the jury, the environment and the Amazon, intellectual property, data protection, treaties, arbitration and foreign judgments
- Capstone: Capstone: Anna Berg and the Florianópolis coworking house
Each module has its own practice labs and a graded quiz, and a Certificate of Completion follows when you pass them all. The whole course is $15 once, or included in a Courses & AI Lab Pass.
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General education on the law of Brazil, using invented people and businesses. It states laws and procedures in simplified form and is not legal advice. The law and its practice change, and every case turns on its facts, the authority and the state concerned. It does not offer legal representation or a legal opinion on any case. Consult a Brazilian lawyer for any real matter.
This course was written on 6 November 2026. To the best of our knowledge, it describes the law of Brazil as it stood on that date. Laws change, and we may have missed or misunderstood something. If you notice a change, or have other information, please do not hesitate to contact us: we will review it and update the course. We do not claim to be the final source of the law.
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