THE CONSTITUTIONAL COMPLAINT IN BINDING PRECEDENTS: BETWEEN DECISIONAL AUTHORITY, NORMATIVE STABILITY, AND JURISPRUDENTIAL REINTERPRETATION

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the constitutional complaint (reclamação constitucional) as an appropriate and necessary instrument for the reinterpretation and possible modification of binding precedents, particularly within the scope of the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court. The analysis begins with an examination of its historical development, theoretical foundations, normative framework, and functional roles, in order to understand how the constitutional complaint can operate as a mechanism for the modification and reinterpretation of judicial precedents. The methodological approach adopted is theoretical-dogmatic, based on descriptive-analytical analysis of legal doctrine and case law. The 2015 Brazilian Code of Civil Procedure conferred new functions upon the constitutional complaint, allowing the reinterpretation and potential modification of precedents so as to prevent their excessive rigidity. The study focuses on three central aspects: (i) temporal modulation, which enables the modification of the effects of precedents; (ii) respect for the institutional competences established to carry out such modifications; and (iii) self-referential reasoning. Among the decisions examined, Constitutional Complaint No. 42,048, adjudicated by the Second Section of the Superior Court of Justice, is interpreted as a possible turning point, reopening space for the admissibility of the constitutional complaint as a mechanism for controlling the application of qualified precedents. Furthermore, in Constitutional Complaint No. 4,374, the Supreme Federal Court acknowledged the supervening unconstitutionality of norms previously deemed valid. Accordingly, when properly employed, the constitutional complaint represents a relevant instrument for balancing the stability of precedents with the evolution of the law, in favor of legal certainty and jurisprudential coherence.

Keywords: Constitutional complaint. Binding precedents. Legal certainty. Normative stability. Jurisprudential reinterpretation.