Brazil's CNJ authorizes gov.br signatures for judicial documents

The National Council of Justice (CNJ) has ruled that powers of attorney and other legal documents used throughout the Brazilian Judiciary may be signed via the gov.br platform. This decision allows for the use of advanced electronic signatures for users with silver or gold-level accounts.

To ensure validity, these signatures must be verifiable through official mechanisms provided by the National Institute of Information Technology (ITI). The CNJ also established that the absence of a traditional ICP-Brasil digital certificate is not sufficient grounds for the automatic or generic refusal of procedural documents.

While the measure aims to facilitate access to justice, judges maintain the authority to request additional verification if there are specific doubts regarding the authenticity or regularity of the representation presented in a case.