 The country's low ranking was attributed to poor governance, weak institutions and excessive interference by private interests in the judicial process

The Brazilian judiciary is commonly viewed as unresponsive and has even been described as a 'black box' by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.Poor citizens are often unable to obtain justice because they are unable to access legal services and this applies equally, if not more, to foreign parents fighting to have their children returned.Amnesty International claims that corruption continues to undermine access to justice in Brazil, reporting a 2009 corruption investigation in which federal police arrested the president of the Supreme Court of Espírito Santo, along with judges, lawyers and a member of the prosecution service, for alleged involvement in the selling of judicial decisions.