BRAZIL Law and Practice Contributed by: Arthur Villamil, Villamil Advogados
ering goods or performing an act, the court can enforce compliance through daily fines to encourage adherence to the judgment. 9.5 Enforcement of a Judgment From a Foreign Country Enforcing a foreign judgment involves a homologação process before the STJ. The par- ty seeking enforcement must file a petition with the STJ, including a certified copy of the foreign judgment, a Portuguese translation, and proof that the judgment is final in the issuing country. The STJ reviews whether the foreign judgment meets criteria such as the competence of the foreign court and adherence to due process. The respondent can present defences, but the STJ does not re-examine the case’s merits. If the STJ recognises the judgment, it can then be enforced as a domestic judgment through a separate action in Brazilian lower courts, using standard enforcement measures. 10. Appeal 10.1 Levels of Appeal or Review to a Litigation The Brazilian legal system provides multiple levels of appeals and review mechanisms to ensure the fairness and consistency of judicial decisions. After a trial court issues a final judgment, a party may file an appeal ( apelação ). This appeal is used to challenge the trial court’s final deci- sion, whether it grants or denies the relief sought by the claimant. It allows for a comprehensive review of both the facts and the legal arguments presented in the case. The appeal is directed to a second instance court that reassesses the
decision made by the lower court, potentially altering or upholding the outcome. Separately, there is the interlocutory appeal ( agravo de instrumento ), which is used to chal- lenge interim decisions made by the trial court during the course of the proceedings but before a final judgment is reached. Appeals, whether from final judgments or interlocutory decisions, are typically reviewed by a panel of judges in a second instance court, but in certain cases, a reporting judge can decide individually, with the option for the losing party to seek a review by the full panel. Higher courts like the STJ and the STF han- dle appeals on legal grounds through recurso especial and recurso extraordinário , respectively, focusing on issues of federal law or constitu- tional interpretation without re-examining the facts of the case. 10.2 Rules Concerning Appeals of Judgments In Brazil, any party whose claim is denied may file an ordinary appeal with the state or federal courts of appeals to seek review of both factual and legal aspects of a lower court’s decision. In cases raising substantial legal or constitutional issues, two specific forms of appeal are avail- able: the special appeal ( recurso especial ) to the STJ for matters involving federal law, and the extraordinary appeal ( recurso extraordinário ) to the STF for constitutional questions. These appeals are only permissible if specific criteria are met, including authorisation from the presiding judge of the Court of Appeals, and for STF appeals, a showing of “general reper- cussion” indicating the constitutional issue’s broader societal significance. This structured
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