Brazil's Green Court: Environmental Law in the Superior Tribunal De Justiça (High Court of Brazil)

Abstract

This Article presents a first look in English at one of the world’s most innovative courts on environmental issues, the Superior Tribunal de Justiça (High Court of Brazil). The Article is based on research conducted on site at the High Court in Brasilia, Brazil, in the chambers of Justice Antonio Herman Benjamin from May to August 2011. The Article reviews and analyzes the High Court’s jurisprudence in two key areas of environmental law in Brazil: interpretation of the Forest Code, which is the foundation of the country’s system of protection of flora; and the application of strict liability for environmental harms, established in the 1980s by Brazil’s National Environmental Policy Act. The Article includes translated portions of several of the High Court’s key decisions, making them available for the first time to an English- speaking audience. Thus, by breaking the language barrier, the Article is intended to raise awareness of the significant steps that Brazil has taken, particularly through its judiciary, toward establishing the rule of law in areas of environmental governance. The High Court’s decisions reflect strong legal and constitutional footing for environmental law in Brazil, but as enforcement increases, courts come into conflict with powerful interests that reject this trend and have begun to push back.

Keywords: Environmental Law, Brazil, Brazilian Law, High Court of Brazil, Forest Code, Strict Liability