Brazil’s Supreme Court Minister Bars Validity of Foreign Decisions Without Approval

Brazil’s Supreme Court Minister, Flávio Dino, decided on Monday (18) that laws or judicial decisions from other countries are not valid in Brazil unless validated by Brazilian justice. Without directly mentioning the Magnitsky Act imposed by the United States as a sanction against Minister Alexandre de Moraes, Dino stated that Brazil has been ‘target of various sanctions and threats’ seeking to ‘impose thoughts to be merely ‘ratified’ by bodies exercising national sovereignty’. The decision was made in a lawsuit filed by the Brazilian Mining Institute, questioning the possibility of Brazilian municipalities filing lawsuits abroad, citing a breach of national sovereignty. The lawsuit, under review since last year, mentions actions by Brazilian municipalities in other countries, such as those related to the Mariana dam disaster being heard in English courts.