Amidst intense debate in the legal community regarding the repercussions of Constitutional Amendment 125/22 (CA 125/22), published on July 14th of this year, the Superior Court of Appeals (STJ) promoted the seminar "Argument of Relevance in Special Appeals", on September 27th.
The purpose of the meeting, held in partnership with the FGV's Center for Innovation, Administration, and Research in the Judiciary (CIAPJ) and the Institute for Reform of State-Company Relations (IREE), was to discuss implementation of the new filter for admissibility of appeals to the STJ.
In the panels, which were attended by justices, advisors, lawyers, and other magistrates, some important theoretical issues were addressed, such as the function of superior courts in Brazil and in comparative law. The focus of the meeting, however, was on the more practical aspects of CA 125/22.
One of them, the subject of great divergence among operators of the law, refers to the moment from which the parties will be obliged to demonstrate fulfillment of the requirement of relevance, under penalty of not having their appeal heard. On this point, Justice Mauro Campbell Marques defended that the application of CA 125/22 depends on regulations, despite the position of some state courts that have already been requiring appellants to demonstrate the relevance requirement.
Other important practical issues, such as competence and minimum quorum for ascertaining relevance, the appropriate way to regulate CA 125/22, and the very definition of the concept of relevance, were also addressed.
Although it is not clear what the trend for the court's position will be, it was clear that the Federal Supreme Court's experience with the general repercussion for extraordinary appeals, provided for in CA 45/04, will serve as a guide for the implementation of the relevance mechanism at the STJ.
The event reinforces the importance of the topic for the STJ and the great impact that CA 125/22 is expected to have on the dynamics of the courts and on lawyers' practice. It is important, therefore, to follow the new developments that should soon be established by the court.
