The current court was preceded by the House of Appeals of Brazil (Casa de Suplicação do Brasil), which was inaugurated during the colonial era on 10 May 1808, the year that the Portuguese royal family (the House of Braganza) arrived in Rio de Janeiro after fleeing to Brazil.

[1] Alongside its appeal competence, mostly by the Extraordinary Appeal (Recurso Extraordinário), the Court has a small range of cases of original jurisdiction, including the power of judicial review, judging the constitutionality of laws passed by the National Congress, through a Direct Action of Unconstitutionality (Ação Direta de Inconstitucionalidade, or ADI).

There are also other mechanisms for reaching the Court directly, such as the Declaratory Action of Constitutionality (Ação Declaratória de Constitucionalidade, or ADC) and the Direct Action of Unconstitutionality by Omission (Ação Direta de Inconstitucionalidade por Omissão or ADO).

He had voted against sending defendants to jail after a single failed appeal in 2009, but changed his mind in 2016.

However, due to vacancies caused by the compulsory retirement age and subsequent appointment of new ministers, it is very rare for the cycle to be ever completed.

Some ministers are forced to retire before their turn for the presidency arrives, as was expected to happen with Teori Zavascki.

[6] Gilmar Ferreira Mendes Mato Grosso Cármen Lúcia Antunes Rocha Minas Gerais José Antonio Dias Toffoli São Paulo Luiz Fux Rio de Janeiro Luís Roberto Barroso Rio de Janeiro Luiz Edson Fachin Rio Grande do Sul Alexandre de Moraes São Paulo Kássio Nunes Marques Piauí André Luiz de Almeida Mendonça São Paulo Cristiano Zanin Martins São Paulo Flávio Dino de Castro e Costa Maranhão Notes