‎Brazil News

Do You Have A Case?

Contact our attorneys now


Court costs

As we know, initiating legal action requires payment of court costs. Therefore, we ask:  how much does it cost to go to court in 2024?
 
A survey carried out showed that there is a large discrepancy in values ​​between Brazilian states: a difference of more than 1,200%.
 
The initial value for a collection action of R$100,000 was considered as a parameter.
 
Just like last year , Piaui remains at the top as the state with the most expensive costs in the country.
 
 
The survey shows how much it costs to go to court in each state of the country. 
Some states experienced an increase. Among them is São Paulo, which had a new law sanctioned in October 2023 with the review of values.
 
See a comparison between last year and this year:
 
 
If we make a parallel between the value of costs and the monthly household income per person (value released by IBGE for 2023), it is possible to see that most States have costs that are more expensive than their income.
 
 
Access to justice
Court fees: New SP law increases initial costs by 50%
Last week, the controversial law that changes the amounts of court fees charged in the State was sanctioned.
 
 
Sanctioned last week by Governor  de Freitas, law 17.785/23 changes the values ​​of court fees charged in the State of SP.
 
The rule modifies amounts charged for certain judicial procedures, including initial costs, including the filing of appeals and reaching final costs.
 
The sanctioned text modifies  state law 11,608/03  (law on court fees), increasing the charge on the value of the case at the time of distribution from 1% to 1.5% (initial costs).
 
It also changes the system for collecting costs in executions, determining that they be advanced by the judgment creditor at the beginning of their processing (in the percentage of 2% of the credit to be satisfied), for subsequent reimbursement by the defendant, instead of being charged only at the end of the execution. execution, as was the case previously.
 
The law also increases the value of the instrument appeal petition from 10 to 15  - SP Tax Unit and adds a 2% rate to the value of the initiation of the sentence enforcement phase. 
As is known, annually surveys the values ​​of legal costs in all Brazilian states, considering as a parameter the value of the collection action of R$ 100 thousand.
 
Read more
Legal costs: Disparity in value between States reaches 1,200%
 
At the beginning of this year, before the new law, SP was in 2nd place, with R$1,000 in initial costs. Now, with the changes, the value increases to R$1,500. The State then occupies 6th place, together with ES.
 
 
SP fell from 2nd place to 6th. 
It's not quite like that
 
At the time that the text was still being processed at spoke with Eduardo Mange , president of AASP - São Paulo Lawyers Association. According to the lawyer, if the process as a whole is considered, SP is among the States with the highest values, making it difficult for those under jurisdiction to access justice.
 
According to Eduardo, to understand why São Paulo's costs are one of the most expensive in Brazil, it is necessary to examine the entire tax burden incurred by the jurisdiction throughout the process.
 
To this end, Mange highlights that the Court has the second highest cost ceiling in Brazil for initial costs, according to a report prepared in 2019 by the CNJ. The value corresponding to 3,000 UFESPs - Fiscal Unit of the State of São Paulo, for 2022, reaches R$ 95,910.
 
"But this ceiling in the São Paulo Courts only applies for a certain act. If you have to pay to appeal, for example, you will pay again. It is not a general ceiling, it is a ceiling per act. You may have to pay the R $95 thousand more than once" , he points out.
 
 
 
Patricia  , president of OAB/SP, is also against the new legislation. During a visit to the headquarters on Friday, the 6th, she said that the increase could restrict access to justice, being "cruel" and "immoral".
 
The lawyer explained that the OAB/SP was combative and critical trying to prevent the approval of the bill. "We understand that passing on this bill to the citizen without improving management and without improving judicial provision is unreasonable" , she highlighted.
 
The increase in the tax burden, without study and "without much rational justification", is harmful and hinders access to justice, said the president. Furthermore, Patricia pointed out that if you compare the number of cases with revenue, SP is one of the most expensive and least productive courts in the country.
 
 
.

ALESSANDRO ALVES JACOB

Mr. Alessandro Jacob speaking about Brazilian Law on "International Bar Association" conference

Find Us

Rio de Janeiro

Av. Presidente Wilson, 231 / Salão 902 Parte - Centro
CEP 20030-021 - Rio de Janeiro - RJ

+55 21 3942-1026

São Paulo

Travessa Dona Paula, 13 - Higienópolis
CEP -01239-050 - São Paulo - SP

+ 55 11 3280-2197