Emergency relief and the (in) effectiveness of its applicability in Brazilian civil procedure

Abstract

The general objective of this work is to analyze the functionality and admissibility of urgent relief in Brazilian civil procedure, highlighting its importance in guaranteeing rights and mitigating risks of harm. The provisional remedies introduced in the 2015 Code of Civil Procedure represent a significant innovation. Thus, this study is dedicated to examining the functionality and admissibility of urgent relief in Brazilian civil procedure, emphasizing its role in safeguarding rights and reducing the dangers of harm. This procedural instrument has been established as a cornerstone of effectiveness in judicial delivery within a system that frequently faces delays. Urgent relief requires certain fundamental prerequisites to be observed when granted, such as the likelihood of the right and the risk of harm or of an unfavorable outcome in the process. Furthermore, the types of urgent relief—anticipatory and precautionary—have particular characteristics, with a fundamental distinction between their satisfactive or protective nature. Therefore, it can be said that urgent relief emerged to enable prompt judicial intervention, seeking to balance the need for speed with legal certainty and due process of law. Without this instrument, procedural delays would render the protection of countless rights unfeasible. For this reason, the correct application of legal requirements is necessary to prevent indiscriminate and abusive use of urgent relief, thereby ensuring legal certainty and respect for the adversarial principle.