Courts that develop effective actions to ensure priority service and respect for the rights of the elderly will be recognized by the National Council of Justice (CNJ) with the Elderly-Friendly Court Seal. The identification will be given to justice bodies that demonstrate the alignment of their activities with the Federal Constitution and the Statute of the Elderly Person (Law No. 10.741/2003).
Read the Ordinance establishing the Elderly-Friendly Court Seal.
Interested courts must demonstrate actions that meet five requirements. One of them is the guarantee of priority judgment of court cases involving people aged 60 or over, observing the special priority of people aged 80 or over.
Another requirement concerns the implementation of ongoing training programs for magistrates, civil servers and employees. This training should increase awareness of and qualification for dealing with issues related to ageing, situations of vulnerability of older people, age discrimination and the defense of their rights.
The implementation of workshops or other educational actions will also be evaluated, along the lines of the Recommendation 50/2014 of the CNJ, aimed at using conciliation to resolve conflicts. Initiatives carried out in the pre-procedural and procedural phases will be considered, in order to make the parties aware of the importance of joint action by the family, the community, society and the public authorities in conflicts involving elderly people.
The fourth premise refers to the creation of a multi-level, multi-sectoral and inter-institutional committee, focused on promoting judicial public policies to care for the elderly, in collaboration with other partners in the protection and defense network.
Finally, the adoption of good governance practices on the subject will be taken into account, with the creation of specific committees or centers to deal with the issue within the courts.
“Establishing this seal, which was provided for in the resolution of the Judicial Policy on Older Persons and their Intersectionalities, will certainly be a great incentive for the implementation of this policy by courts throughout Brazil,” said the coordinator of the Committee on Older Persons, councilor Pablo Coutinho Barreto, at the launch of the seal during the 16th Ordinary Session of 2024 of the CNJ.
On the occasion, which was marked by the announcement of the actions of the courts in favor of human rights, in honor of International Human Rights Day (10/12), the councilor informed that the evaluation of the courts for the award of the Elderly-Friendly Court Seal will be carried out by a Judging Commission and it will be valid for two years.
