Brazil's top court tightens rules to stop case-routing to specific justices

Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) has implemented new rules to prevent legal requests from being directed to specific justices, requiring technical analysis and presidential approval for petitions linked to existing cases. If no direct relationship exists, a new case will be opened and distributed among justices. The measure follows episodes of "injunctive wars," where justices issued conflicting decisions on the same subject, creating internal tension. The change also came after Justice Kassio Nunes Marques questioned the STF's jurisdiction over the Superior Electoral Court regarding posts about Our Lady of Aparecida. The new rules apply to petitions from third parties, lawyers, and prosecutors, among others, that question acts outside the original case or seek to extend decisions to unrelated people or facts. The analysis will be conducted by court officials and must pass through the STF presidency.