Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice ruled that the 2006 May Crimes—a wave of police retaliation following attacks by the Primeiro Comando da Capital that left at least 545 people dead in São Paulo—constitute a grave human rights violation, establishing that civil liability claims against the state do not expire.
Superior Court of Justice Ruling on the May Crimes
Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice, known as the STJ, determined that the state’s civil liability for gross human rights abuses is imprescriptible.
The ruling centers on the events of May 2006, when the Primeiro Comando da Capital launched a series of attacks against security forces and other targets in São Paulo. The subsequent police response resulted in at least 545 deaths across the state, with numerous cases bearing indications of extrajudicial execution by state agents.
Legal Implications for State Accountability and Reparations
The legal action was brought before the judiciary by the Public Ministry and the Public Defender’s Office of São Paulo. Following the STJ decision, the case returns to the Court of Justice of São Paulo, which must examine the substance of the civil lawsuit and determine potential state liability.
The ruling opens the door for the Brazilian state to be ordered to pay reparations to the victims or their families for events that transpired two decades ago. Caroline Leal, a lawyer with the strategic litigation team at Conectas, addressed the broader legal significance of the outcome.
The decision constitutes a legal precedent by recognizing that the civil liability of the State for serious human rights violations does not prescribe. Caroline Leal, strategic litigation team lawyer at Conectas
Precedent Beyond the Military Dictatorship Era
Organizations such as Conectas and the Independent Movement of Mothers of May participated in the proceedings as amicus curiae
. Leal noted that the court’s stance rejects the narrow interpretation that the imprescriptibility of human rights violations should apply exclusively to abuses committed during Brazil’s military dictatorship.
According to statements given to Agencia Brasil by Leal, the ruling establishes a new framework for how victims and their families can pursue redress, even when severe abuses occur under a democratic regime.
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