Under Brazilian law, the basic rule is that the plaintiff has the burden of proving its rights and the defendant has the burden of proving its arguments of defense. That is to say, in principle each party must produce its own evidence and it is not obliged to disclose documents against its interests (this is set forth in the Constitution, in the Code of Criminal Procedure, in the American Convention of Human Rights and in the Code of Civil Procedure).

However, a party may request the presentation of "common" documents in the other party's possession. A common document is not only a document that directly involves both parties (e.g., a contract), but also a document that relates to or has a connection with an existing legal relationship between the parties, or between one of the parties and a third party. As a result, the scope of a request for documents in the Brazilian system is narrower than the discovery/disclosure proceedings available in some common law jurisdictions.

Under Brazilian law, a party may not present in civil litigation generic and overly broad requests for documentation. Claims for disclosure require a detailed description and identification of the requested documents and an indication of the purpose for which they are being sought. The requesting party may also be compelled to state the reasons why they believe that the requested documents exist and are in the other party's possession.