Measuring Efficiency of Courts: An Assessment of Brazilian Courts Productivity

This chapter uses Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to measure efficiency in the Brazilian Judiciary, specifically in State Courts. As in many other countries, inefficiency of Brazilian courts is usually credited to the shortage of material and human resources (e.g., Rebelo 2003). But is it the only, or the main, reason for the current critical situation of the Brazilian Judiciary? A second frequently blamed reason for inefficiency is the poor quality of the procedural law. Yet, given that all the courts in the country follow the same law, why is it that some are able to perform better than others? We will apply DEA to answer these questions. By analyzing data of the 27 Brazilian State Courts, from years 2006 to 2010, we create a ranking of judicial efficiency and, with that, be able to identify the best-practice efficient units. For years 2006 to 2010, results show that efficiency varies substantially across the units. The biggest problem, yet, seems to be with a group of State Courts presenting very unstable results, which might indicate a deficient data collection and/or measurement. Both inefficient and unstable units could use DEA results to improve their management and to achieve better results in their efficiency, productivity and effectiveness in the delivery of judicial services.