Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) resumes in-person sessions on Monday, August 3, after the judicial recess, taking up a docket the court itself had previously called a priority but pushed into the second half of the year.
The August agenda includes the classification of app-based drivers' work arrangements, rules for the interim governorship of Rio de Janeiro, the application of the Maria da Penha domestic violence law outside family settings, mining on Indigenous lands and the regulation of gambling.
The first session begins at 2 p.m. on Monday. The opening item concerns rules for tax-exempt vehicle purchases by people with disabilities, following two lawsuits challenging changes the tax reform made to eligibility criteria. Disability advocacy groups argue the new legislation imposes excessive requirements to prove disability and the need for vehicle adaptations. Arguments began in June, and justices are now expected to vote.
The same day, the court is set to decide whether the Maria da Penha law can apply to violence against women in cases where there is no family, domestic or romantic tie between victim and aggressor. The case carries general repercussion, meaning the court's ruling will bind lower courts in similar cases.
Gambling and the Soy Moratorium
On August 5, the court is expected to discuss whether the ban on gambling under the Criminal Misdemeanors Law, in place since 1941, is compatible with the constitutional principle of free enterprise. Under current rules, those who organize or operate gambling can face fines and other penalties. The court will determine whether the activity remains prohibited or is no longer treated as illegal.
On August 12, the full bench will review an injunction by Justice Flávio Dino that suspended judicial and administrative proceedings nationwide tied to the Soy Moratorium, a voluntary agreement among companies restricting purchases of soy grown on Amazon land deforested after July 2008. Justices will rule on two lawsuits challenging laws in Mato Grosso and Rondônia that limit tax incentives for companies that join the environmental pact. The STF first took up the matter in March; after suspending the case in favor of mediation through its Center for Consensual Conflict Resolution (Nusol), talks broke down in mid-June without an agreement, and the case returned to the reporting justices.
Mining and the Rio de Janeiro Succession
On August 13, the court will hear a case demanding that Congress regulate mining on Indigenous lands, filed by an organization representing the Cinta Larga people. The constitution allows mineral extraction on such territories with congressional authorization, consultation with affected communities and a share of proceeds for Indigenous peoples, but the rule has never been regulated. In February, Justice Flávio Dino, the case's reporter, found Congress had failed to act and set a 24-month deadline for a law; the full bench will now decide whether to uphold that ruling.
On August 19, the court is expected to resume the case determining how a special election will be run to fill the interim governorship of Rio de Janeiro, after Dino returned a request that had suspended the case since April. The constitution requires a new election to complete the term through December 31, but justices are divided over whether the vote should be direct, by popular ballot, or indirect, through Rio de Janeiro's state legislature, the Alerj.
App Drivers' Employment Status
One of the most anticipated rulings is set for August 27, when the court will decide whether app-based drivers have an employment relationship with digital platforms or work as independent contractors. The outcome is expected to guide thousands of pending labor lawsuits and directly affect the business models of companies including Uber, 99 and Rappi. The case had been rescheduled for late June but was postponed again at the request of Brazil's Labor Prosecutor's Office (MPT) and the Federal Public Defender's Office (DPU), which sought more time to incorporate a June 12 International Labour Organization convention setting international standards for app-mediated work.
