The relevance of the federal question becomes a requirement of the special appeal and changes the preparation of corporate appeals.
Regimental Amendment No. 55/2026 (amendment to the Internal Rules of the STJ, the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice), of 21 August 2026, created the examination of the relevance of the federal question in the special appeal (recurso especial). In practice, any party appealing against an appellate decision published on or after 3 September 2026 must include a reasoned section on the matter. Without it, the appeal may be held inadmissible or may not be entertained.
How the relevance of the federal question changes the special appeal
The amendment alters the Internal Rules of the STJ and addresses the relevance of the question of infra-constitutional federal law. It operates as an admissibility requirement. In other words, the court will only examine the merits if the appellant demonstrates such relevance.
This section is not a mere formality. Even in the situations in which relevance is presumed, the appellant remains obliged to provide reasons for it. For this reason, the drafting of the appeal calls for care as early as the second instance.
Who decides on relevance and with what effect
The examination may take place in two ways, and the effect depends on the adjudicating body. Where the Sections or the Special Court (Corte Especial) decide, a qualified precedent is formed. A decision by a Panel (Turma), on the other hand, applies only to the specific case.
Once relevance is recognised, proceedings dealing with the same subject matter may be stayed throughout the country. Conversely, if the court rejects relevance, identical appeals may be denied leave to proceed at the court of origin. One decision therefore affects many disputes at the same time.
The topics are now given their own numbering, and there is a procedure for reviewing legal theses. In addition, the amendment broadens the powers of the Presidency, of the reporting justices and of the Precedents Management Commission.
What to check before filing the next appeal
Law No. 15,484/2026 also forms part of this framework. The relationship between the two instruments must be checked against the official text. In the meantime, other sources cite a different number and date for the amendment. It is therefore advisable to confirm everything on the STJ website.
It is our understanding that litigation planning now includes, from the outset, the selection of the questions that justify taking a case to the STJ.
The next step is to review the special appeal template used by the company and to include the relevance section in cases with an appellate decision published after the rules come into force.
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