The payment of judges and judges is not a guarantee of efficiency in the progress of processes in the 27 state courts and the , as indicated by the results of the IPM (Judges Productivity Index) of the (National Council of Justice).
A large part of the bonuses, which raise the magistrates’ salaries above the constitutional salary limit for Brazilian civil servants, are granted to compensate for the excess workload or length of service of members of the Judiciary. In practice, the bodies that pay the most are not necessarily the most productive.
Magistrates from the TJ-MT (Court of Justice of ), for example, lead the ranking of highest salaries with an average monthly income of R$122,700, but occupy the tenth position in the IPM.
The TJ-MG (Court of Justice of ) also draws attention. Its judges have one of the highest paychecks in the country (fifth place), but they are among the least productive, in 23rd position in the CNJ ranking. They receive an average salary of R$94.2 thousand per month.
The constitutional salary ceiling for Brazilian civil servants is R$46,300, the salary of ministers of the (Supreme Federal Court).
In the 27 courts, the average monthly earnings of magistrates range from R$44,300 to R$122,700, according to a salary survey carried out by the Sheet.
CNJ data on productivity were released last year, but refer to 2024, the last year available. The report carried out a survey of magistrates’ salaries based on the same year for comparison purposes. The information only considers active judges in state courts.
The bonuses are incorporated into the judges’ paychecks as compensation for their working hours.
This is the case with , which gives 1 day off for every 3 days of work. It can be transformed into compensation if the time off is not taken. There are also bonuses for accumulation of collection and function, in addition to bonus leave, for magistrates with longer service.
The CNJ IPM is calculated by the relationship between the volume of cases downloaded – that is, legal actions closed – and the number of magistrates who worked during the year in the jurisdiction.
When contacted, the Mato Grosso court did not respond to the report’s questions. The TJ-MG said, in a note, that expenses with active personnel comply with the constitutional limits and those established in the fiscal responsibility law. The court also states that it has 4.6 million cases in its collection and has adopted measures to improve the speed of trials.
The average IPM for state courts is 2,574 cases downloaded per judge, according to the CNJ’s latest Justice in Numbers report, published last year and based on information from 2024.
In a note, the CNJ states that it has independence and the courts manage their own budgets. Salaries are set by each court and the CNJ exercises subsequent control and examines possible illegality.
Furthermore, the Organic Law of the Judiciary provides a list of benefits, of an indemnity nature, that can be paid to magistrates. These figures are not subject to the constitutional ceiling. The entity did not comment on the productivity results.
are rare in the public service, which allows civil servants to move up the career ladder and earn raises regardless of their performance. This extends to members of the Judiciary, such as judges and judges.
“When additional salaries are not linked to goals or results, it is difficult to assess whether they fulfill the function of offsetting the burden or whether they become just fixed components of remuneration”, says Luciana Yeung, coordinator of the Center for Economic Analysis of Law at Insper.
Paying super wages regardless of productivity can compensate for poor performance. The result can be seen in the way the population evaluates the quality of the service provided, according to Luciana.
“Public perception is linked to the concrete experience of users with the system, such as processing time and clarity of decisions. Unfortunately, this, even when compared to other public and private bodies in the country. In recent years, it has decreased, accompanied by news about super salaries and perks in the public sector”, says the researcher.
Low productivity extends to other cuts in Brazil. Judges and judges at the TJ-AC (Court of Justice of ) have the worst efficiency in the country, occupying last place in the IPM ranking. The average income of magistrates in the Acre court is R$61,400, above the constitutional ceiling.
Another case that stands out in the ranking is from the TJ-RO (Court of Justice of the State of ), where judges and judges have an average income of R$98,300 per month, one of the highest among state courts. However, they rank 13th in the productivity index.
At the other end of the ranking, the TJ-AM (Court of Justice of ) has one of the best productivity in the country, occupying second position on the IPM list. At the same time, they have one of the lowest average incomes, with salaries of R$44,300 – that is, close to the constitutional ceiling.
In a note, the TJ-RO states that the amounts paid are based on the Constitution and do not only correspond to the monthly allowance, but also to compensation amounts and retroactive payments. Regarding productivity, the court says that the IPM is in line with the national average for small courts.
When contacted, the TJ-AC did not respond to the report’s questions.
Last month, the president of the STF, discussed with the presidents of the Chamber, , and , , the creation of a transitional rule on the payment of salary caps in the public service. Alcolumbre and Motta said that there was no time to issue a law that regulates the payment of penduricalhos, according to interlocutors.
Before that, also in February, the STF minister had suspended the payment of compensation funds in the three Powers, establishing that only the restrictions expressly provided for by law can remain outside the ceiling of the respective careers. The magistrate had set a period of 60 days for all administration bodies to review and suspend payments without a legal basis.
Weeks later, the STF minister determined that compensation funds in the Judiciary and the Public Ministry could only be paid when they were expressly provided for in a law approved by Congress. The decision bars most of the penduricalhos, which are usually determined by administrative action and state law.
The STF has even started the referendum judgment on the measures, both handed down in injunctions. The expectation is that, by then, there will already be a concrete deliberation by the technical committee created by Fachin to forge a consensus. The STF expects the group to operate until the 20th. The objective, according to the court, is to build “a coordinated, transparent and fiscally responsible solution”.
