The trinkets for judges and judges this Thursday (9) cost at least R$1.2 billion last year.
The figure only corresponds to food, health, pre-school aid and subsistence allowance for magistrates – part of the benefits authorized by a joint decision of the CNJ (National Council of Justice) and the CNMP (National Council of the Public Ministry) this Thursday.
The data refers to 2025. The resolution standardizes benefits for magistrates and members of the entire country such as subsistence allowance in case of removal or displacement, daycare allowance and compensation for untaken vacations. All are compensation funds, which are not subject to Income Tax and may exceed the constitutional ceiling.
The rapporteur of the resolution at the CNJ is the president of the (Supreme Federal Court), . Ten more councilors voted with the magistrate. The proposal was judged through a virtual plenary session of the two councils.
When contacted by the report, the CNJ stated in a note that the resolution is the result of studies and discussions by the joint working group between the two councils.
Magistrates received R$144,000 in living expenses and R$116,000 in health benefits in a single month. The aid requires proof of expenses to be received. In May 2025, a Labor judge received R$347,000 just for compensation for unused vacations.
From the list of 11 items, the only benefits that have an explicit limit set out in the resolution are the bonus for accumulating functions and for working in difficult-to-serve districts. Together, these benefits cannot exceed 35% of the judge’s allowance.
Installments extinguished in the STF’s March decision were replaced by other funds of the same name in the joint resolution. Pre-school care, for example, has become a “bonus for the protection of early childhood and motherhood.” The amount will be given to Power members who have children up to six years of age, with a maximum limit of 3% per month.
By being standardized, the funds can have an even greater reach. Preschool aid, for example, was granted in only 13 state courts. With the approval of the measure, it could be extended to all 27.
The resolution also authorizes the payment of , if the member of Power moves to another place of employment and is not entitled to functional property. It had also been extinguished in the STF provision. In 2025, R$1.6 million was spent on this benefit.
Once approved, the resolution will be applied to careers regardless of what was decided by the STF, unless one of the parties to the judged cases calls the court again to analyze the text or if one of the rapporteurs takes up the matter ex officio, that is, without provocation.
People at the forefront of discussions at the CNJ even reject the expression penduricalhos, which they call correct amounts for the work carried out.
In March, the STF approved one of the Judiciary and the . With 18 points in total, it will be valid until Congress approves a law regulating this topic. This thesis applies only to the judiciary and prosecutors, with some implications for other legal careers such as public lawyers.
Civil society entities have already spoken out against the approval of the resolution. In a note, the NGO Transparência Brasil states that the measure “expands possibilities of receipt and ignores limits that the STF itself had established”.
“This is a clear sign of the failure of these bodies and the consequent urgency for institutional reforms capable of imposing governance and control on these privileged public service careers.”
