The injunction previously granted to suspend all ongoing judicial proceedings related to the topic has not been ratified.
In a virtual hearing conducted within the Original Civil Action (ACO) No. 2,463, the full court of the Federal Supreme Court was deadlocked and did not ratify the preliminary injunction previously granted by Justice André Mendonça. In April, Justice Mendonça accepted the request made by the Federal Council of the Brazilian Bar Association (CFOAB) to nationwide suspend all ongoing legal proceedings that involve the validity of Paragraph 1 of Article 1 of Law No. 5,709/1971—which addresses foreign ownership of rural land.
The tied vote triggered Article 146 of the Supreme Court’s Internal Rules, which states that if there is an absence or lack of a Justice in the full court, and there is a tie in the vote on a matter requiring an absolute majority, the issue will be considered as decided, and the solution will be contrary to the intended or proposed one. In this instance, the absence or lack of a Justice in the full court was due to the retirement of Justice Ricardo Lewandowski, which took effect on May 11th.
The Justices who voted for
(i) ratification of the injunction were André Mendonça (Rapporteur), Edson Fachin, Dias Toffoli, Cármen Lúcia, and Nunes Marques.
(ii) On the other hand, those who voted against ratification were Alexandre de Moraes, Roberto Barroso, Luiz Fux, Rosa Weber (Chief Justice), and Gilmar Mendes.
Thus, judicial proceedings related to the acquisition of rural properties by foreigners and Brazilian companies controlled by them, which had been suspended since the injunction was granted, will resume standard processing.
