Two research projects by São Paulo Law School (DIREITO SP) were selected by the Study Center on the Justice System (CEJUS) of the Secretary of the Judicial Reform of the Ministry of Justice, in a technical cooperation agreement with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).The project Estudo qualitativo sobre boas práticas em mediação no Brasil? (A qualitative study on best practices in mediation in Brazil) will be conducted by São Paulo Law School in partnership with the Brazilian Center for Judicial Studies and Research (CEBEPEJ). Daniela Monteiro Gabbay and Luciana Gross Cunha coordinate the project for the School, and Ada Pellegrini Grinover, Maria Tereza Sadek and Kazuo Watanabe, for CEBEPEJ.The other project selected was Estudo sobre o assassinato de mulheres por razões de gênero: Feminicídio? (Study on the murder of women because of their gender: Femicide), by the Center for the Study of Crime and Punishment - coordinated by Professors Marta Machado and Maíra Rocha Machado. Fieldwork and analysis of criminal casesAccording to Daniela, the relevance of the project A qualitative study on best practices in mediation in Brazil is justified by the current moment in which there's the debate around the creation of a legal framework on mediation in Brazil. We'll conduct field research in various regions of the country in search for examples of good practices in mediation, she explained, adding that empirical research can help to better understand the developed experiences and map the mediation growth in the country.Concerning the project Study on the murder of women because of their gender:  Femicide, the researcher Fernanda Emy Matsuda highlighted that the problem in Brazil is closely linked to domestic violence, since many women die from the action of people with whom they have an intimate relationship. By deepening the knowledge about the courts that implement the laws, it will be possible to evaluate the changes brought by Maria da Penha Law in dealing with domestic and family violence against women. This further strengthens the democratic institutions and the effective exercise of rights by women, she concluded.  One of the work fronts will be the qualitative analysis of criminal cases that were processed in the jury trial of five capitals.The process was done through public bidding and the goal of the initiative is to collect information on the Brazilian Justice System. At the end of the empirical research, the produced technical and scientific reports will be part of the Dialogues on Justice collection, of the Ministry of Justice.