According to the Brazilian National Council of Justice (CNJ), registration is mandatory for all companies that are registered in Brazil (i.e., that have a taxpayer number, so-called “CNPJ”), except if they are classified as “micro” or “small” company. Such registration must be completed by May 30th, 2024.
After such deadline, (i) inclusion will be automatic, based on Brazilian Federal Revenue data, (ii) all procedural communications sent via Electronic Judicial Domicile will be deemed acknowledged and valid, (iii) the company will be exposed to penalties and procedural sanctions for non-compliance with such judicial communications (including default of appearance and possible convictions) and (iv) if the company does not use the portal and/or does not respond to procedural communications, a fine will be imposed.
The Electronic Judicial Domicile is a platform that concentrates all communications and subpoenas, issued by Brazilian courts and directed to companies, on a single system. It is worth mentioning that the system encompasses all Brazilian courts, regardless of the jurisdiction (for example, civil, federal, labor, tax courts and even superior courts).
The purpose of the system is to facilitate procedural communications, standardize access to such subpoenas and expand the digitalization of the Judiciary. As its use will be mandatory, companies must designate an employee/third party to periodically access the portal and train them to operate the platform – so that they perform the filtering and forward such communication to an external lawyer hired by the company.
According to the rules of the Electronic Judicial Domicile system, all summonses will be deemed read and valid after 3 business days, and all notifications after 10 business days, starting the procedural deadlines. Also, in case of failure to confirm receipt of the summons, the company will be subject to a fine of up to 5% of the value of the claim.
It is important to highlight those communications directed to retained lawyers and/or lawyers already with powers in legal proceedings will not be affected by the new system. The Electronic Judicial Domicile only encompasses communications that are targeted by the Courts directly to companies, as is the case with summonses (i.e., for new claims, in which there is no appointed lawyer yet) or personal subpoenas (in which the communication is made to the party, and not via a lawyer).
