BRAZIL · COURTS AND TECHNOLOGY
Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF) froze all case deadlines for Thursday 12 and Friday 13 November 2026 after a technology failure at an outside provider disrupted its email and messaging tools. Chief Justice Edson Fachin signed the order on Friday, and the clock restarts on Monday 16 November.
The failure was part of the worldwide Microsoft disruption that also hit Outlook (email) and Teams (video calls). In Brazil it hampered email and messaging between lawyers and courts, so the country’s bar association asked for the pause.
Key Facts
- What The STF suspended the counting of case deadlines on 12 and 13 November 2026.
- Why A technology incident at an outside provider disrupted the court’s email and messaging tools.
- Who asked The Federal Council of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB), the national lawyers’ body.
- Restart Counting resumes on Monday 16 November 2026.
- Wider pause The National Council of Justice (CNJ), which oversees Brazil’s courts, paused deadlines nationwide for the same two days.
- Power Index Brazil ranks 1st of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 74.2 points (November 2026 edition).
What the Court Decided
Fachin signed an order that stops the deadline clock in cases before the STF on both days. Time that would have run on 12 and 13 November does not count against any party.
The order also lets the justice in charge of each case review situations the pause does not reach but that the outage clearly harmed. Each request is judged one by one.
Why Lawyers Asked
The Federal Council of the OAB wrote on Friday 13 November to Fachin, who also heads the National Council of Justice (CNJ), the body that oversees Brazil’s courts. It asked for deadlines due on 12 and 13 November to be extended and for counting to stop while the faults lasted.
The OAB argued that working court systems are not enough on their own. Failures in communication tools, it said, can harm contact between lawyers, parties and court offices.
Why It Matters
In Brazilian courts, a missed deadline can end a party’s right to appeal or respond. A two-day pause protects every lawyer and client whose filing fell due while systems were down.
The CNJ ordered the same two-day pause for courts across the country. Both measures end on Friday, with deadlines running again from Monday 16 November.
What It Means for You
Companies and individuals in Brazilian lawsuits, including US firms with Brazilian operations, get two days back on any filing that fell due on 12 or 13 November. Lawyers should still check each case, because the order leaves unusual situations to the judge in charge.
The outage itself is the larger story: see our report on the Microsoft Outlook disruption. More court news is on our Brazil news page.
What Is Not Known
We have not seen the text of the order itself. Nor is it known whether any party has asked for more time beyond Friday.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which days did the Brazilian Supreme Court suspend deadlines?
Thursday 12 and Friday 13 November 2026. Counting resumes on Monday 16 November.
Why were deadlines suspended?
A technology incident at an outside provider disrupted the court’s email and messaging tools. The bar association asked for the pause.
Did other courts pause deadlines too?
Yes. The National Council of Justice paused deadlines nationwide for the same two days.
Sources: Supreme Federal Court (STF), order signed by Chief Justice Edson Fachin, 13 November 2026; Federal Council of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB), requests of 13 November 2026; National Council of Justice (CNJ), order of 13 November 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error
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