Notes on Interim Relief in Direct Actions of Unconstitutionality

Abstract

The article analyzes the admissibility, requirements, procedure, and effects of interim relief in direct actions of unconstitutionality, with the aim of demonstrating its relevance for the urgent protection of constitutional supremacy within concentrated constitutional review. It adopts a legal-dogmatic and historical-evolutionary methodology based on the examination of Brazilian constitutional development, the case law of the Supreme Federal Court, specialized legal scholarship, and the framework introduced by Law No. 9.868/1999. It shows that the granting of interim relief, initially controversial, became consolidated in Brazilian law due to the general power of precaution inherent in constitutional jurisdiction and later received express statutory regulation, including provisions regarding quorum, the exceptional possibility of granting relief without prior hearing, and the conversion of the interim proceeding into a final judgment on the merits. The article argues that the measure has the nature of an interim order with a precautionary function, requires the presence of fumus boni iuris and periculum in mora, and generally produces erga omnes effects with ex nunc operation, exceptionally allowing retroactive effect. It concludes that interim relief in direct actions of unconstitutionality is an indispensable instrument for preserving the integrity of the legal order and preventing apparently unconstitutional norms from producing harmful effects until final judgment.