Superior courts are at the top of the Brazilian Judiciary pyramid, reviewing decisions from lower instances and standardizing the application of the law.
Actions judged in the first instance can result in appeals judged in the second instance, which, in turn, will be examined by the immediately higher courts.
What is a Superior Court?
The Federal Supreme Court (STF) is the highest court in Brazil. It ensures that the country's laws follow the Constitution. It is composed of eleven Brazilian ministers.
Specialists in Resolving Cases before Superior Courts
Here are the superior courts and their functions: The STF handles the country's laws, the STJ resolves non-labor or electoral disputes, the TST deals with labor issues, the TSE oversees elections, and the STM handles military matters.
Superior courts represent the essence of the Brazilian judiciary system, effectively acting in the interpretation and application of the country's laws. Among these bodies, the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) stands out as an extremely important instance in the national legal hierarchy.
As guardians of jurisprudence standardization and legality guarantees, the superior courts, especially the STJ, are fundamental pillars for maintaining legal order and protecting citizens' rights.
In this article, we have gathered the main information about the Superior Court. We hope that by the end of this content you will know more about the topic and be able to mitigate problems related to the subject.
Additionally, we serve as legal correspondents in these instances, always with competence and diligence, for offices and clients across the country, in pursuit of meaningful and collaborative action to improve law and the jurisprudential theses that guide our justice.
To this end, we propose both original actions, such as homologation of foreign judgments, habeas corpus mandates, and actions for declaration of unconstitutionality, as well as having expertise in the most varied appeals.
We have created a table to summarize and facilitate the reader's understanding of the topics mentioned above. Before getting to know more about some of the original actions we propose.
| Topic | Summary |
| Homologation of Foreign Judgment HDE | Acting in processes of homologation of foreign judgments, ensuring compliance with all legal requirements and necessary procedures. |
| Special Appeal (REsp) – STJ | Filing special appeals before the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), aiming to challenge decisions made in lower instances that violate federal legislation. |
| Appeal in Special Appeal (AREsp) – STJ | Filing appeals in special appeals before the STJ, aiming to challenge decisions that deny the admissibility of special appeals. |
| Appeal in Habeas Corpus (RHC) – STJ | Filing appeals in habeas corpus before the STJ, aiming to challenge decisions made by local courts that violate fundamental rights and guarantees. |
| Appeal in Mandado de Segurança (RMS) – STJ | Filing appeals in mandado de segurança before the STJ, aiming to challenge decisions made by local courts that violate fundamental rights and guarantees. |
Homologation of Foreign Judgment
The homologation of a foreign judgment is a process aimed at granting the effectiveness of a foreign judicial act in Brazil, making it valid and compliant with Brazilian legal norms.
Pursuant to Article 4 of Resolution No. 09 of 2005 of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), any foreign judgment, including the foreign homologation of divorce, will only exist legally in Brazil after its homologation by the STJ.
For this reason, for the legal act carried out abroad to have full effectiveness in Brazil, the process of homologation of the foreign judgment before the STJ is essential.
The requirements for the homologation of a foreign judgment are:
– it must have been issued by a competent judge;
– the parties must have been cited or there must have been legal verification of default;
– it must have become final and unappealable and comply with the necessary formalities for execution in the place where it was issued;
– it must be translated by a sworn translator;
– it must have been homologated by the Superior Court of Justice.
Regarding who has the capacity to file a homologation action of a foreign judgment, it is understood that all individuals who can be affected by the decision made abroad can do so, through a legally constituted lawyer. The homologation must be proposed by a lawyer – RJ as it has a nature similar to that of a judicial action.
