Combate a grilagem de terras na Amazônia: o papel do Poder Judiciário

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative/PUC-Rio examines the role of the Brazilian Judiciary in combating land grabbing (grilagem) in the Amazon. It analyzes the Judiciary's dual function: the administrative oversight of land registries (cartórios) and the jurisdictional resolution of land disputes. Using Pará as a primary case study, the report highlights the effectiveness of administrative cancellations of fraudulent titles but warns against a 'civilist' view of possession that can legitimize illegal occupations of public lands. It also explores strategic litigation, including climate damage claims and the protection of traditional communities' collective land rights.

• The Court of Justice of the State of Pará (TJPA) is highlighted as a paradigm for its use of administrative blocks and mass cancellations of irregular records, though the National Council of Justice (CNJ) is urged to standardize these procedures across other Amazonian states.
• There is a significant lack of transparency regarding the data on the cancellation and requalification of land records in Pará, which hinders the public's ability to understand the scale of land grabbing and overlapping claims.
• A 'civilist' perspective on possession prevails in the TJPA, particularly in civil law chambers, which may legitimize land grabbing by ignoring that such a view is inadequate for the public and rural lands of the Amazon.
• Courts in the region are often failing to apply STJ Precedents (Súmulas 619/2018 and 637/2019), which establish that illegal occupation of public land is mere 'detention' rather than legal possession and that public entities can intervene in disputes between private parties.
• The Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) is being used to validate illegal land situations because the cancellation of a fraudulent land title does not automatically trigger the cancellation of the CAR, allowing illegal occupants to maintain economic activities and access credit.
• Collective and ethnic land rights for indigenous peoples and quilombolas are often only protected by the Judiciary when areas are formally designated; quilombola communities, in particular, receive less protective treatment than indigenous groups.
• Strategic litigation is emerging as a tool to deter land grabbing, including the 'Amazônia Protege' project by the MPF and a pilot action by Ibama seeking R$ 292 million in reparations for 'climate damage' caused by illegal deforestation.
• The Judiciary can prevent the legalization of land grabbing by ruling against legislative attempts to reduce Protected Areas (PADDD), as seen in Rondônia where the court declared the reduction of certain conservation units unconstitutional.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2023). Combate a grilagem de terras na Amazônia: o papel do Poder Judiciário. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/pt-br/publication/combate-a-grilagem-de-terras-na-amazonia-o-papel-do-poder-judiciario/

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. Combate a grilagem de terras na Amazônia: o papel do Poder Judiciário. 2023. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/pt-br/publication/combate-a-grilagem-de-terras-na-amazonia-o-papel-do-poder-judiciario/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=Combate a grilagem de terras na Amazônia: o papel do Poder Judiciário |date=19 October 2023 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/pt-br/publication/combate-a-grilagem-de-terras-na-amazonia-o-papel-do-poder-judiciario/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2023combate, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{Combate a grilagem de terras na Amazônia: o papel do Poder Judiciário}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2023}, month = oct, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/pt-br/publication/combate-a-grilagem-de-terras-na-amazonia-o-papel-do-poder-judiciario/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }