The Application of Judicial Precedents as a Way to Reduce Brazilians Tax Lawsuits

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the thesis that the application of the doctrine of precedent, originated in England, could reduce judicial litigation in Brazil, mainly in tax law procedures, such as tax enforcement. Brazil Law applies Civil Law, which means that the law is based on the principle of legality. However, the Brazilian Judiciary System is costly and has lower effectiveness. To deal with these problems, the National Congress has changed the law, providing mechanisms from the Common Law, mainly by introducing the binding precedents system. Respect for precedent is a requirement of the Brazilian Civil Procedure Code of 2015. However, the theory of precedent was developed in a society culturally very different from the Brazilian, which leads to the need for comparisons such as the exposed here that will justify the differences facing the source procedure that will undoubtedly occur. However, there are doubts if the transformation of the legal system will reduce the impressive figures of judicial cases. Nevertheless, the conclusion is definite. The precedent theory involves techniques that can potentially reduce tax lawsuits, representing a significant number of all legal disputes in Brazil. This conclusion was reached through data analysis, some doctrinal sources, and, mainly, by the author’s reflections. This mix of scientific method verifies the hypothesis: describes and analyses the system and presents a definite conclusion.