Collective judgments play a fundamental role in Brazilian Civil Procedure Law. These decisions, issued in collective actions, can generate effects that extend to all holders of rights related to the same legal relationship ( erga omnes ) or are limited to specific groups, categories, or classes.

Regardless of these limitations, the effectiveness of these rulings transcends the territorial boundaries of the adjudicating body, being valid throughout the national territory.

Collective actions represent a legal mechanism aimed at protecting diffuse, collective, and homogeneous individual rights. These transindividual rights reveal interests that affect a large number of people, promoting collective defense and the democratization of access to justice.

Based on the principle of solidarity, collective redress recognizes that protecting the rights of groups or classes benefits society as a whole. This procedural instrument seeks to ensure efficiency in judicial protection and prevent harm through comprehensive and effective decisions.

Among the main benefits of collective actions, the following stand out:

• The guarantee of efficient and comprehensive judicial protection;
• Defending transindividual interests in a collective manner;
• Procedural efficiency, by avoiding multiple individual lawsuits;
• The prevention and inhibition of illegal conduct.

What are collective sentences and why are they so important?

A class action judgment is a court decision issued in a class action lawsuit, the purpose of which is to resolve issues involving the interests of a group of people. These lawsuits are fundamental mechanisms for defending collective, diffuse, or homogeneous individual rights, and are frequently brought by associations or entities that represent the interests of that group.

Collective judgments have specific characteristics that differentiate them from other judicial decisions. Their effects can include:

• It extends to all holders of a right, including people who did not directly participate in the action;
• Being limited to a specific group, category, or class;
• Valid throughout the national territory, regardless of the territorial jurisdiction of the adjudicating body.

This broad scope makes collective judgments a powerful instrument in protecting rights that affect a plurality of people or social interests.

Difference between collective and individual sentences

While a collective judgment resolves a lawsuit representing the rights of a group of people, an individual judgment is intended to resolve the rights of a specific person.

This distinction lies at the heart of the judicial process:

• Collective rulingIt is the result of collective action and can benefit a large number of people, even those who did not directly participate in the process.
• Individual sentence: results from an action brought by a single person and has effects restricted to the author of the action.

Collective action vs. individual action

• Collective action: legal process that covers the rights of a group of people represented by an entity or association.
• Individual action: legal proceedings concerning the specific rights of a single individual.

A striking characteristic of collective judgments is their potential to encompass all holders of the right in question, or, in certain cases, to be limited to a specific group. This scope demonstrates the strength and relevance of collective actions in the Brazilian legal system.

Classification of protected rights: types and characteristics

In the context of collective actions, the rights protected are classified as diffuse, collective, and homogeneous individual rights. The distinction between them lies in their scope, ownership, and legal nature.

diffuse rights

Diffuse rights are indivisible in nature and belong to an indeterminate group of people linked by factual circumstances. Their broad scope aims to protect more comprehensive social interests.

• ExamplesRight to the environment, right to public health, protection of cultural heritage.

Collective rights

Collective rights are also indivisible in nature , but their ownership is determined and linked to a basic legal relationship between the holders. They are specific to groups, categories, or classes of people.

• Examples: common interests among members of a union or professional association.

Individual and homogeneous rights

Homogeneous individual rights are divisible in nature and stem from a common origin, allowing for individual redress of specific damages. Despite their individuality, they can be addressed collectively to ensure greater procedural efficiency.

• ExamplesConsumers harmed by a defective product or victims of the same collective accident.

Classifying these rights is essential to determine the procedural approach and the effects of the judgment rendered, ensuring adequate and effective protection of the interests involved.

Individual enforcement of collective judgments

The individual enforcement of collective judgments is an important tool in Civil Procedural Law, allowing individual beneficiaries of a collective judgment to obtain satisfaction of their specific rights. This mechanism ensures that, even in actions with general effects, particular interests are protected.

When is individual enforcement possible?

Collective judgments, which often involve diffuse, collective, or homogeneous individual rights, can be enforced individually by the beneficiaries or by representative entities, such as unions and associations.

This possibility is guaranteed by articles 97 and 98 of the Consumer Protection Code (CDC), which establish concurrent legitimacy between the holders themselves and collective representatives.

What procedures are necessary?

1. Settlement of the right: When the value or extent of the right is not clear in the collective judgment, it is necessary to promote prior liquidation to determine the... quantum debeatur.

2. Filing of the enforcement action: The beneficiary may initiate individual enforcement proceedings directly in the court of their domicile, according to established case law, without depending on the location where the collective judgment was issued.

3. Active standing: In addition to the holder himself, entities such as unions or associations may promote enforcement, based on the extraordinary legitimacy conferred by article 8, item III, of the Federal Constitution.

What are the requirements for individual execution?

• Beneficiary identification: The interested party must demonstrate that they are entitled to the right recognized in the collective judgment.
• Liquidity statement: In cases where the judgment does not directly specify the amounts owed, it is essential to proceed with the liquidation process to determine the amount due.
• Term: The enforcement action must be initiated within the statute of limitations, which is determined by the nature of the right in question.

The role of representative bodies

Trade unions play an important role in the collective and individual enforcement of judgments, as consolidated by the Brazilian Supreme Court in Case 823 and in Precedents 629 and 630. These entities can promote both the settlement and enforcement in favor of the entire category or part of it, even without the express authorization of those represented.

The closing thought

Collective judgments are an essential instrument for ensuring justice in cases involving transindividual rights. They represent an effective response to the demands of groups, categories, or classes of individuals, promoting not only the resolution of conflicts but also the prevention of harm and the inhibition of illicit practices.

The possibility of individually enforcing these judgments reinforces the importance of the legal system in balancing collective and individual interests, ensuring that each holder of a recognized right has the opportunity to seek the realization of their claims.

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References

Individual enforcement of a collective judgment. TJDFT. Individual enforcement of collective judgment – ​​extraordinary standing of the union – collective or individual rights, February 17, 2023. Available at: https://www.tjdft.jus.br/consultas/jurisprudencia/jurisprudencia-em-temas/jurisprudencia-em-detalhes/tutela-coletiva/cumprimento-individual-de-sentenca-coletiva-2013-legitimidade-extraordinario-do-sindicado-2013-direitos-coletivos-ou-individuais.

Effects of the judgment in class action lawsuits. TJDFT. Effects of the judgment in collective actions, January 25, 2024. Available at: https://www.tjdft.jus.br/consultas/jurisprudencia/jurisprudencia-em-temas/cdc-na-visao-do-tjdft-1/a-defesa-do-consumidor-em-juizo/os-efeitos-da-sentenca-nas-acoes-coletivas.

SINDONA, Rodrigo Nunes. Individual enforcement of collective judgments: general aspects. Legal Scope, September 1, 2017. Available at: https://ambitojuridico.com.br/execucao-individual-de-sentenca-coletiva-aspectos-gerais. 
TRILLER. Rights and interests: diffuse and collective rights. Available at: https://trilhante.com.br/curso/direito-processual-coletivo/aula/direitos-e-interesses-ii-1.