"SOMEDAY, PERHAPS, IF SO..." - FREQUENCY AND REASONS FOR NOT SCHEDULING PRELIMINARY HEARINGS AT SAO PAULO STATE LOWER COURTS

• Main Authors: Paulo Eduardo Alves da Silva, Tatyana Chiari Paravela
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro 2020-12-01
• Series: Revista Eletrônica de Direito Processual
• Subjects: access to justice; dispute resolution; judicial settlements; mandatory preliminary hearings; to schedule the date of trial; empirical research on judicial decisions
• Online Access: https://www.e-publicacoes.uerj.br/index.php/redp/article/view/54212/34892

Brazilian 2015 Code of Civil Procedure bet on incentives to judicial settlements by setting clear rules for the preliminary hearing - which was placed right at the beginning of the proceedings and whose appointment is mandatory to the judge (art. 334). Nevertheless, its outcomes depend on how the rule will be practiced inside the judicial system. This paper provides data on frequencies and reasons invoked by decisions about preliminary hearings appointments in Lower Courts of the São Paulo State. Despite the clear rule, the hearing was barely scheduled, grounded on reasons that vary substantially.