Topic summary
Superior Court of Justice (Brazil)

The Superior Court of Justice (Portuguese: Superior Tribunal de Justiça, also known as STJ, IPA:) is the highest appellate court in Brazil for non-constitutional issues regarding federal law. The STJ also has original jurisdiction over some cases. Its jurisdiction is provided for in Article 105 of the Brazilian Constitution.
A Special Appeal (in Portuguese, Recurso Especial) can be made to this court when a judgement by any of the country's appellate courts goes against a federal statutory provision or when said courts have issued different interpretations of the same federal statute.
By rule, the STJ decides only issues of law, and does not analyze any factual issues pertaining the cases' probatory elements, about which the appellate courts give the last word.
As in other superior courts in Brazil, STJ's justices are called "ministers" (Portuguese: ministros), not to be confused with ministers from the executive branch.