Homologation of a foreign judgment is the recognition by the Brazilian Judiciary of a decision made by a foreign court, being indispensable to reproduce effects in the Brazilian territory of divorces decrees, criminal judgments, adoption and child custody judgments, business, banking, and even immigration issues. Without the due homologation in Brazil, the foreign judgment keeps its validity only in the country in which the judgment has been rendered.
The homologation of a judgment must be addressed to the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice, according to Section 105, I, i, of the Federal Constitution: “The Brazilian Superior Court of Justice is responsible for homologating foreign sentences and granting exequatur to Rogatory Letters.”. However, it is important to emphasize that the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice only observes the formalities fulfillment, not interfering in matters of merit, which makes the presence of a legally constituted lawyer indispensable.
Some requirements for a sentence homologation are mentioned in Sections 216-D and 216-F of the Internal Rules of the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice and article 15 of the Law of Introduction to the Norms of Brazilian Law: “It must have been issued by a competent authority; the parties must have been summoned or the default must have been legally verified; it must have become ‘res judicata’; it must be authenticated by the Brazilian Consul and accompanied by a translation by an official or sworn translator in Brazil and it must not offend sovereignty or public order.”
