New Relevance Filter for Special Appeals: What Changes in Access to the STJ?

Law No. 15,484/2026, enacted on 4 August 2026, has regulated the relevance filter applicable to Special Appeals.

Under the new rules, it will no longer be sufficient to demonstrate that a decision has violated or incorrectly interpreted federal law. Appellants will also be required to demonstrate that the issue under dispute has economic, political, social or legal relevance extending beyond the specific interests of the parties involved in the proceedings.

What changes in practice?

1. Special Appeals will be subject to a new admissibility requirement

A Special Appeal must include a specific, reasoned section demonstrating the relevance of the federal law issue under discussion. Failure to include this section will result in the appeal being deemed inadmissible.

In practice, this adds a new dimension to appellate strategy: in addition to demonstrating an error in the interpretation or application of federal law, appellants will need to explain why the dispute warrants review by the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) beyond the resolution of the individual case.

The Federal Constitution, however, already provides for circumstances in which relevance is presumed, including criminal proceedings, administrative misconduct actions, claims exceeding 500 minimum monthly wages, proceedings that may result in ineligibility for public office, and cases in which the decision under appeal conflicts with the STJ’s prevailing case law.

2. Access to the STJ is expected to become more selective

Even where the formal requirement has been met, the STJ may conclude that the dispute is not sufficiently relevant. If at least two-thirds of the justices responsible for hearing the case consider that the issue lacks relevance, the Special Appeal will not be admitted. A decision finding that the relevance requirement has not been met will not be subject to appeal.

Access to the Court is therefore expected to become more selective, while strengthening its role in establishing legal principles with implications for other cases and concentrating its work on disputes that extend beyond the specific interests of the parties involved.

3. Decisions under the new regime may affect other proceedings

Once the relevance of an issue has been recognised, the reporting justice may order the nationwide stay of individual and collective proceedings concerning the same matter, initially for a period of up to six months.

In addition, judgments issued in Special Appeals subject to the relevance regime will become part of the system of qualified precedents under the Brazilian Code of Civil Procedure and must therefore be followed by other courts and judges.

The relevance filter therefore represents more than a new requirement for access to the STJ: it also reinforces the importance of monitoring the Court’s precedents and may have direct implications for proceedings still pending before lower courts.

4. Attention should be paid to the transitional rule

The new law will enter into force 30 days after its official publication. The new requirement, however, will not apply indiscriminately to all Special Appeals filed after that date.

The requirement to include a specific, reasoned section addressing the relevance of the issue will apply only to Special Appeals filed against judgments published after the law enters into force.

This means that the relevant date is the date on which the judgment under appeal was published, rather than the date on which the Special Appeal is filed. If the lower court’s judgment was published before the new law entered into force, the appeal will remain subject to the previous rules, even if the deadline for filing the appeal expires and the Special Appeal is filed after the new law has taken effect.

Our team is closely monitoring the implementation of the new rules and their impact on appellate strategy. Should you have any questions regarding the application of the relevance filter to ongoing proceedings or access to the STJ, please do not hesitate to contact us.