Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice (STJ) Issues Regulations Requiring Summaries to Accompany Initial Petitions and Appeals to Support AI-Based Internal Case Classification

Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice (STJ) Issues Regulations Requiring Summaries to Accompany Initial Petitions and Appeals to Support AI-Based Internal Case Classification

On August 20, 2026, the Superior Court of Justice of Brazil (STJ) published Normative Instruction (IN) No. 42/2026, which regulates Article 343-A of its Rules of Procedure. Added by Rule Amendment No. 53/2026, Article 343-A now requires that initial petitions in original actions and appeals filed with the STJ include a summary of the factual and legal grounds, the relief sought, any contested decisions, and the legal provisions invoked. IN 42/2026 establishes how this summary must be prepared and submitted.

The measure aims to enable the use of artificial intelligence techniques for the screening, classification, and grouping of cases, as well as for the identification of contested decisions, cases involving similar issues, and cases potentially suitable for establishing qualified precedents or for joint adjudication.

This requirement applies to initial petitions in cases falling under the original jurisdiction of the STJ; petitions for appeals filed with the Court; independent procedural motions in appeals, such as requests for preliminary injunctions; and petitions seeking uniform interpretation of federal law. For the time being, initial petitions and appeals within the jurisdiction of the Third Section are excluded, pending the issuance of a specific directive by the Presidency.

The summary must contain, in an objective, clear, impersonal manner faithful to the petition, (I) a chronological summary of the facts and the contested decisions; (II) the legal grounds and respective statutory and constitutional provisions; (III) the requests; and (IV) the qualified or binding precedents, legal principles, and rulings invoked. In special appeals, it must also indicate (V) any issue relevant from an economic, political, social, or legal standpoint that goes beyond the subjective interests of the case or the presumption of relevance. Each field should preferably contain up to 3,000 characters, without generic references such as “see grounds” or mere reproduction of the brief.

The information must be entered in the appropriate field of the electronic filing system, in machine-readable format, and will form part of the petition for the purposes of Article 343-A of the Internal Rules of Procedure, without the need to reproduce it in the body of the petition. In original actions filed directly with the STJ, the summary shall be entered into the Court’s system. In appeals and other pleadings initially filed with the court of origin, the summary must be submitted at the time of filing.

If the summary is not submitted, is incomplete, or is inconsistent with the petition, the clerk’s office will indicate the defect and order the party or attorney to correct it within 10 days. The correction does not permit altering the grounds of the initial petition or the appeal and does not affect the timeliness of the original filing.

Responsibility for the content lies with the party or the filing attorney, who must ensure that it corresponds to the petition, the facts, and the contested decisions. Deliberate inaccuracy or substantial omission may be considered an act that undermines the dignity of justice and a violation of the duties of loyalty and procedural good faith, without prejudice to any reporting to professional associations.

Finally, the submission of the summary will only be mandatory after the publication of an ordinance by the Presidency of the STJ declaring that the necessary technological measures for its receipt have been completed: those provided for in Article 7, items I through IV, for filings made directly with the STJ, and that provided for in item V for filings made with the courts of origin. In the latter case, the ordinance will also specify the courts whose systems will be enabled to receive the summaries. During the first 90 days following the effective date of this requirement, noncompliance will result only in a notice being served on the petitioner to instruct them on the new procedure.

Normative Instruction No. 42/2026 can be accessed through the following link: Normative Instruction No. 42-2026

Internal Rules Amendment No. 53/2026 can be accessed through the following link: Amendment No. 53-2026

 Note: For quick release, this English version is provided by automated translation without human review.