Weathering the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil: a multidisciplinary view for investors and businesses

The Covid-19 pandemic that has swept the world has created economic, health and humanitarian challenges of a scale and nature that contemporary generations have never had to face. The same is true from a legal point of view, and companies now find themselves engaged in complex decision-making processes in a highly uncertain scenario, on a global scale.

In Brazil, the task is especially challenging because our legal system has three different levels of government – federal, state, and municipal – each with its own legislative jurisdiction, executive structure and regulatory agencies. These various authorities are active in issuing laws and regulations, often in areas of overlapping jurisdiction, and the potential for multiple layers of regulation and even conflict between laws is very real.

This e-book offers an overview of the laws and regulations that are most relevant to doing business in the context of the pandemic, issued up to the end of April 2020. It also highlights some of the main decisions by the courts in this period – another important element of the legal environment in Brazil, since our judicial branch is divided into various jurisdictions and instances, and our courts, with their broad, general jurisdiction over disputes of most kinds, have shown themselves to be increasingly active in matters that have significant social repercussions, as is the case with the current pandemic.

There can be no doubt that the challenge brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic is monumental. We hope that this e-book will be useful to international investors and companies with business interests in Brazil, providing them with information that can help in the process of understanding and making decisions in these uncertain times.