POUR LE BRESIL - The Role of Superior Courts in Legal Certainty and the Administration of Justice

The student association Pour le Brésil is pleased to invite you to a guest talk on: The Role of Superior Courts in Legal Certainty and the Administration of Justice.

Brazil's judiciary is one of the largest and most complex in the world: over 40 million new cases filed in 2025 alone, a total caseload of close to 80 million pending proceedings, and a workforce of nearly 18,000 judges operating across more than 90 tribunals. Managing this system – while ensuring legal certainty, uniform application of federal law, and reasonable duration of proceedings – represents a major institutional challenge.

This event will explore how Brazil's superior courts, and in particular the Superior Tribunal de Justiça (STJ), have approached these challenges through governance reforms, the use of artificial intelligence, and the development of binding precedent mechanisms.

The talk will feature Luis Felipe Salomão, Minister and President-elect of the Superior Tribunal de Justiça – the highest instance of the Brazilian judiciary in the common justice sphere. Having served in key roles across the Brazilian judiciary and legal system – from first-instance judge to STJ President-elect, including Inspector General of the Judiciary, Minister and Inspector General of the Superior Electoral Tribunal, Director of the Brazilian Judges Association, and President of the Senate's Commission of Jurists responsible for drafting Brazil's Mediation Act – he brings a firsthand perspective on judicial governance at every level. He is also Professor and Coordinator of FGV Justiça, the research center of the Fundação Getulio Vargas dedicated to justice systems.

The presentation will be delivered in Portuguese, and followed by an open discussion with the audience (questions may be asked in any language). 

Moderation: Gabriela Berbert-Born, PhD Candidate, Sciences Po Law School.