AJURIS v. State of Rio Grande Do Sul
Brazil Supreme Court
Original Action 152-8 (Rio Grande do Sul) AO-152 (1999)
- Written by Whitney Waldenberg, JD
Facts
AJURIS (plaintiff), which was an association of Brazilian state judges, sued the state of Rio Grande Do Sul (defendant) to recover cost-of-living adjustments on overdue judicial salaries. Article 5(XXI) of the Brazilian constitution permitted the filing of an ordinary suit by an organization on behalf of its members as long as the organization had the express authorization of its membership to do so. The AJURIS bylaws permitted AJURIS to file suit on behalf of its members, and AJURIS secured authorization from a majority of its members to file the suit during a general meeting. The state argued that the organization could only pursue relief for the individual judges who expressly consented to the suit instead of the entire membership. Agreeing with the state, Justice Velloso of the Brazil Supreme Court wrote a rapporteur opinion finding that the judges were entitled to recovery, but that the relief was limited to those members of AJURIS who had expressly and individually consented to the filing of the suit. The majority of justices called for reconsideration of Justice Velloso’s opinion as to AJURIS’s standing to bring claims on behalf of all members, based on the authorization obtained at the general meeting. The reasoning of the majority follows.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Sepúlveda Pertence, J.)
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