Sisbajud: Brazilian courts have a new asset freezing system

Brazilian courts now have one more tool: the new online system for seizing debtors' assets, launched on August 25, 2020.

What Sisbajud is

The Judiciary Asset Search System (Sisbajud) is the result of an agreement between the National Council of Justice (CNJ), the Central Bank and the Office of the Attorney General of the National Treasury (PGFN). It was developed to locate and freeze the assets of debtors whose debts have been recognized in court, and it replaced Bacenjud, created in the 2000s.

The broader range of financial assets that can be seized, together with the tools for requesting banking information, allow the National Treasury's attorneys to adopt new collection strategies and, together with the Judiciary and the Central Bank, to have greater control over financial institutions' compliance with seizure orders.

What changes in practice

Sisbajud was designed to work in an integrated way with PJe, Brazil's electronic court filing system: the judge records in the system how many times the seizure order must be repeated, until the amount needed to satisfy the obligation is reached.

In this way, the system improves the tracking of assets and the online seizure of funds, being faster and more efficient than the former Bacenjud and shortening the time cases take at the enforcement stage.

The law has increasingly embraced technological innovation to bring more efficiency and security to judicial activity, which supports important constitutional principles such as the reasonable duration of proceedings and procedural speed, both guiding the effectiveness of the courts.

When it came into force

Sisbajud came into force on September 4, 2020, and from September 8, 2020 it began operating fully, with Bacenjud deactivated.

At Martins Advocacia, together with our clients and partners, we are committed to advising them on preventive measures, seeking greater speed and lower costs.

We are at your disposal for any further information.