The plenary of the Chamber of Deputies approved, this Wednesday (13), the Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) that imposes a filter on special appeals to the Superior Court of Justice (STJ). The text now proceeds for promulgation.
The score of the first round was 400 votes in favor and 13 against. There was an abstention. The score of the second round was 366 to 10, with two abstentions. For approval, at least 308 favorable votes were needed in both rounds.
Special appeals to the STJ are appeals that question decisions of lower courts, such as the Courts of Justice and federal courts.
The proposal changes the Constitution to determine that, in the special appeal, the interested party must demonstrate the relevance of infraconstitutional federal law issues – which are not included in the text of the Constitution and, therefore, which are below the Magna Carta – discussed in the case so that the STJ analyze its admissibility.
Otherwise, the Court may not recognize the special appeal, if two-thirds of the members of the competent body for the judgment agree.
The approved text determines that there will, necessarily, be the relevance of infraconstitutional federal law issues in the case of criminal actions, administrative improbity actions, actions whose value of the cause exceeds 500 minimum wages, actions that may generate ineligibility, in cases where the judgment appealed against the prevailing jurisprudence of the STJ, and in other cases provided for in the legislation.
According to the PEC, relevance will only be required in special appeals filed after the text enters into force. At the opportunity, the parties will be able to update the value of the case in cases where it may exceed 500 minimum wages.
The PEC had been approved by the Chamber’s special committee on July 4th without mishap.
The report approved by the collegiate, prepared by federal deputy Bia Kicis (PL-DF), states that the purpose of the PEC is to decongest the judicial system, reducing the number of special appeals with the STJ, “by imposing a new requirement that will serve as an access filter”.
“The statistics are particularly eloquent: the STJ judged only 3,711 cases in 1989, the first year of its operation. Ten years later, in 1999, this annual figure reached 128,042, rising to 328,718 in 2009, and to 543,381 in 2019, reaching an astounding 560,405 cases in 2021 alone,” he wrote.
“With regard specifically to the special appeal, the STJ judged a modest 856 appeals in 1989, its first year of operation. This figure reached 106,984 in 2008, with similar peaks in 2003 (100,096), 2005 (104,918), 2017 (101,123) and 2018 (100,665), according to data reported to this Rapporteurship by the court itself. More recently, the STJ judged 72,311 special appeals in 2021 alone – a lower number, but no less impressive,” he added.
According to Bia Kicis, the PEC has the support of STJ ministers. She argues that the purpose of the proposal is not to prevent the parties from accessing the STJ, as claimed by part of the opposition, but “to make the Court stop acting as a third instance, reviewing decisions in cases whose interest is restricted to the parties”.
Source: CNN Brasil
