MEIOS CONSENSUAIS DE SOLUÇÃO DE CONFLITOS NO BRASIL: GESTÃO JUDICIAL OU ADEQUAÇÃO ÀS NECESSIDADES SOCIAIS?

CONSENSUAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION METHODS IN BRAZIL: JUDICIAL MANAGEMENT OR ADAPTATION TO SOCIAL NEEDS?

Abstract

ABSTRACT

The article presents a critical analysis of consensual dispute resolution methods — especially mediation and conciliation — considering their incorporation into the contemporary Brazilian legal framework. The research questions whether these instruments are being used merely as administrative strategies for litigation management or whether they represent effective means of adapting the justice system to emerging social complexities. It starts with the observation that the culture of excessive judicialization, combined with procedural slowness and formalism, led to the creation of public policies such as CNJ Resolution No. 125/2010, the new Code of Civil Procedure (Law No. 13,105/2015), and the Mediation Law (Law No. 13,140/2015), which institutionalized mediation and conciliation as structuring tools for access to justice. The study shows that consensual methods, when employed in a substantive manner, enable the transformation of access to justice, provided they are guided by principles such as voluntariness, active listening, empowerment, and collaborative solution-building. However, attention is drawn to the risks of bureaucratic, technocratic, or economistic appropriation of these methods, which may undermine their emancipatory and inclusive potential. It concludes that the transformative impact of mediation and conciliation depends on a profound cultural shift within the Brazilian justice system.