Recognition of Foreign Judgments

A foreign decision only has effect in Brazil after recognition, unless otherwise provided by law or treaty (Art. 961 of the CPC). Jurisdiction lies with the Superior Court of Justice (Art. 105, I, i, of the Constitution), and the procedure follows Arts. 960 to 965 of the CPC and Arts. 216-A to 216-N of the STJ Internal Rules (Regimento Interno do STJ).

• Judicial and non-judicial decisions: a final judicial decision may be recognized, as may a non-judicial decision that, under Brazilian law, would be jurisdictional in nature (Art. 961, § 1, of the CPC; Art. 216-A, § 1, of the RISTJ). This is the case, for example, of a divorce granted at a Portuguese Civil Registry Office (Conservatória do Registo Civil).
• Partial recognition: the decision may be recognized only in part (Art. 961, § 2).
• Urgency: provisional relief is available in recognition proceedings (Art. 961, § 3, of the CPC; Art. 216-G of the RISTJ).

According to the Ministry of Justice, Brazil's list of bilateral treaties on this subject does not include Portugal. Therefore, for Portuguese decisions, the general rule of the CPC and of the STJ Internal Rules applies, with the exceptions discussed below for pure uncontested divorce and for support claims under the 2007 Hague Convention.

Article 963 of the CPC requires that the decision:

• was issued by a competent authority;
• was preceded by proper service of process, even if the defendant defaulted;
• is effective in the country where it was issued;
• does not violate a Brazilian final judgment (res judicata);
• is accompanied by an official translation, unless waived by treaty;
• does not contain a manifest violation of public policy.

The STJ Internal Rules also require proof that the decision is final and unappealable (Art. 216-D, III) and deny recognition of a decision that offends national sovereignty, human dignity or public policy (Art. 216-F).

What cannot be recognized

A decision on a matter within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Brazilian courts is not recognized (Art. 964 of the CPC). This includes actions concerning real estate located in Brazil and, in a divorce or dissolution of a stable union (união estável, Brazil), the partition of assets located in Brazil (Art. 23, I and III). A Portuguese judgment that partitions real estate in Brazil can be recognized as to the divorce, but not as to that partition.

The initial petition must be accompanied by the original or a certified copy of the decision and by the other essential documents (Art. 216-C of the RISTJ). In practice, the following are usually required:

• full certificate of the Portuguese judgment or decision;
• proof that the decision is final and unappealable;
• proof of proper service on the other party, when that party did not take part in the proceedings or does not agree with the application;
• a power of attorney to a lawyer registered with the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB), who signs the petition (Ministry of Justice, question 19);
• identification documents of the parties and, where applicable, the other party's express consent.

Apostille

Brazil and Portugal are parties to the Apostille Convention: Portugal since February 4, 1969, and Brazil since August 14, 2016 (Decree 8,660/2016; HCCH status table). Portuguese public documents are therefore exempt from consular legalization and receive an apostille issued by the competent authority in Portugal.

Translation

The CPC requires a Portuguese-language version, signed by a sworn translator, for documents written in a foreign language (Art. 192, sole paragraph). Portuguese decisions are already in Portuguese; attached documents in another language require translation.

1. Petition to the President of the STJ, who has the power to grant recognition (Art. 216-A of the RISTJ). If any requirement is missing, a deadline is given to amend the petition (Art. 216-E).
2. Service on the opposing party to respond within 15 days. The defense may only address the interpretation of the decision and the formal requirements (Art. 216-H). If the other party agrees, the proceedings tend to be simpler.
3. Default or incapacity: a special guardian (curador especial) is appointed (Art. 216-I).
4. Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (Ministério Público Federal): it has 15 days to review the case and may challenge the application (Art. 216-L).
5. Contested application: if the application is contested, the case goes to the Special Court (Corte Especial), with a reporting justice (Art. 216-K). Decisions of the President or the reporting justice may be appealed by interlocutory appeal (agravo) (Art. 216-M).

Once the decision is recognized, its enforcement, when necessary, takes place in the competent Federal Court, with a certified copy of the recognition decision (Art. 965 of the CPC; Art. 216-N of the RISTJ). For divorce, civil registry offices annotate the judgment certificate (carta de sentença) recognized by the STJ without the need for enforcement in the Federal Courts (Art. 463 of the CNJ National Code of Rules).

Timeframes

The STJ does not publish an official average timeframe for recognition, and the time depends mainly on whether the application is contested and on service of process on the other party, which may need to be carried out in Portugal. For this reason, we do not state timeframes on this page.

A foreign judgment of uncontested (mutual consent) divorce takes effect in Brazil without recognition by the STJ (Art. 961, § 5, of the CPC). The validity of that decision may be examined by any judge when the issue arises in proceedings (§ 6).

The rule was governed by CNJ Provision 53/2016 (Provimento CNJ), which was revoked and incorporated into the National Code of Rules for Extrajudicial Services (Provimento CNJ), in Arts. 464 to 467:

• Simple or pure uncontested divorce, which deals only with the dissolution of the marriage, is annotated directly on the marriage record by the civil registrar, without STJ recognition and without the need for a lawyer (Art. 464, main section and §§ 1 and 2). This also applies to a non-judicial divorce decision that, under Brazilian law, is jurisdictional in nature.
• Qualified uncontested divorce, which in addition to the dissolution provides for child custody, support or partition of assets, requires prior recognition by the STJ (Art. 464, § 3).
• Documents: full copy of the judgment, proof that it is final and unappealable, official sworn translation, and consular legalization or apostille (Art. 465).
• Name: to resume the maiden (single) name, the judgment must provide for it, the foreign law must allow it or the foreign civil registry must evidence the change (Art. 466).

The STJ Help Center confirms that a simple or pure uncontested divorce does not require recognition and defines it as one that does not involve custody, support or partition. A contested divorce still requires recognition.

• Custody and parental responsibilities: when the divorce judgment regulates custody, the divorce is qualified and requires recognition (Art. 464, § 3, of the National Code of Rules). See also the page on child custody between Brazil and Portugal.
• Support: between Brazil and Portugal, the 2007 Hague Convention applies. According to the Ministry of Justice, recognition must be requested by a lawyer from the President of the STJ, except for applications based on that Convention, which are processed through the Central Authority (DRCI/SNJ). See the page on international child/spousal support (alimony).
• Partition: the partition of assets located in Portugal may be recognized; the partition of assets located in Brazil falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Brazilian courts and is not recognized (Arts. 23, III, and 964 of the CPC).
• Civil money judgments: a Portuguese judgment ordering the payment of a sum can only be enforced in Brazil after recognition, before the Federal Courts (Art. 965).

The two actions have the same purpose, but work in opposite directions:

• A Portuguese decision to take effect in Brazil: recognition by the Superior Court of Justice, covered on this page.
• A Brazilian decision to take effect in Portugal: review and confirmation by the Court of Appeal (Tribunal da Relação) (Arts. 978 to 980 of the Portuguese Code of Civil Procedure). Portugal has no exemption for uncontested divorce like the one in the Brazilian CPC: a divorce obtained in Brazil, including by notarial deed, must go through review. See the page on recognition (review) of a foreign judgment in Portugal (revisão de sentença estrangeira).

If you divorced in Portugal and need to update your marital status in Brazil, or vice versa, you will find more information on the page about divorce.

With lawyers in São Paulo and Albufeira, Sene & Araújo assists with the recognition of Portuguese decisions from both sides of the process.

1. Review of the decision: we check whether the case calls for recognition by the STJ or direct annotation at the registry office, and whether any parts cannot be recognized.
2. Documents in Portugal: requesting certificates and proof that the decision is final from the court or the registry office, and the apostille.
3. Action before the STJ: petition, monitoring service of process on the other party, filings and any appeals.
4. After recognition: annotation in the Brazilian civil registry and, if necessary, enforcement of the decision in the Federal Courts.

When the same family needs the decision to take effect in both countries, we coordinate recognition in Brazil with the review in Portugal.