Supreme Court Justice Rules Foreign Orders Must Be Ratified in Brazil

The justice sent the decision to banks, which are under pressure from Eduardo Bolsonaro in the United States

Aug.18.2025 3:41PM

Cézar Feitoza

Brasília
Supreme Federal Court (STF) Justice Flávio Dino, of Brazil’s highest court, ruled on Monday (18) that judicial and executive orders from foreign governments must be ratified in the country to be enforceable.

The decision was issued in the case concerning the collapse of the dam in the city of Mariana, in Minas Gerais, which is pending before the courts in the United Kingdom. The goal is to shield Justice Alexandre de Moraes from the impact of the Magnitsky Act, a financial sanction imposed on the magistrate by the Trump administration in the United States.

Dino stated that "foreign laws, administrative acts, executive orders, and similar instruments have no effect with respect to: a) natural persons for acts committed on Brazilian territory; b) legal relations established here; c) assets located, deposited, or held here; and d) companies operating in the country."

The justice stressed that "extraterritoriality, in the legal sphere, is absolutely exceptional" and highlighted the risk to national security posed by the immediate enforcement of foreign rulings in Brazil.

"[Violating the decision] constitutes an offense to national sovereignty, public order, and good customs," the justice said.

https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/world/2025/08/supreme-court-justice-rules-foreign-orders-must-be-ratified-in-brazil.shtml