The vice-president of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Edson Fachin, suspended a decision by the Court of Justice of Pará (TJ-PA) that established the payment of R$233 million in fees to a law firm that acted on behalf of indigenous people of the Xikrin ethnic group in actions against the mining company Vale ().
The TJ-PA decision also determined the retention of 10% of each monthly installment paid by Vale to indigenous people as a result of an agreement signed with the company to compensate for the damage caused by mining to the Cateté Indigenous Land, in Pará. The agreement provides for the transfer of more than R$2.3 billion to indigenous communities by 2067.
The indigenous associations representing the Xikrin ethnic group had hired lawyer José Diogo de Oliveira Lima to represent them in the actions, but they revoked the lawyer’s mandate before the end of the process.
The firm went to court to demand payment of fees for its work, and obtained a favorable decision in the first instance to receive R$3.3 million. He appealed and, in the second instance, the TJ-PA increased the amount to R$233 million.
Fachin was presiding over the Court on duty until Sunday, the 19th. The decision, handed down on the 16th, responded to a request made by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR).
The body argued that cases on indigenous rights should be judged by the Federal Court, and not by the state, and that the TJ-PA decision poses a danger of irreparable damage to indigenous communities – as it removes part of the amount that would have been allocated to the Xikrin people.
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Fachin considered that “the Federal Court is responsible for judging issues, even if they affect indigenous lands”.
He also highlighted that there is a risk of harm to public security and cited the threat of an “imminent resurgence of conflicts” in the area, due to the failure to fully transfer the amounts agreed in the agreement.
