NATIONAL JUDICIAL COOPERATION AND EXPANDING ACCESS TO JUSTICE IN FAMILY LAW

Abstract

This article examines national judicial cooperation, as provided by articles 67 to 69 of the 2015 Brazilian Code of Civil Procedure and regulated by Resolution No. 350/2020 of the National Council of Justice, as a mechanism for expanding access to justice in family law. It is argued that the territorial fragmentation of the jurisdictional provision in family matters, resulting from the need for communication between different districts and extrajudicial services for the fulfillment of registration acts, execution of protective measures and enforcement of decisions with repercussions in multiple districts, compromises access to justice and produces disproportionate effects on those under jurisdiction. Through an interdisciplinary literature review and normative analysis, it is demonstrated that the mechanisms of judicial cooperation already available in the legal system, such as direct assistance, concerted acts and interinstitutional cooperation, are underused in family law, and that their effectiveness requires procedural standardization, decision-making integration and training of legal operators. It is concluded that judicial cooperation is an instrument capable of overcoming bureaucratic and financial barriers without the need for legislative change, as long as it is accompanied by a change in the institutional culture of jurisdictional provision.