Brazil Supreme Court Orders Halt to Irregular Judicial Bonuses

Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has ordered seven regional courts to immediately halt irregular bonus payments, known as "penduricalhos." The magistrate also demanded that the presidents of each court identify the judges who received these extra funds and return any amounts exceeding 70% of their base salary within 72 hours.

The ruling affects the courts of Maranhão, Rio de Janeiro, Goiás, Paraná, Rio Grande do Norte, and the Federal District. This action follows a February decision by Justice Flávio Dino, which prohibited the creation of new compensatory payments by public administration bodies. While these "penduricalhos" can increase server salaries beyond the constitutional limit of R$46,000, Dino's criteria still allowed exceeding this amount, but forbade new benefits.

Despite this, some courts continued to institute such advantages. Irregularities included payments for benefits already deemed illegal by the Supreme Court, such as pre-school assistance, moving allowances, and adoption aid, as well as service time bonuses exceeding 35% of the salary. In one extreme case, a judge in the Maranhão Court of Justice received R$3.2 million over 12 monthly installments due to these irregular payments.

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The magistrate demanded that the presidents of each court send, within 72 hours, the names of the judges benefited and return amounts above the limit of 70% of the subsidy.