Desembargador

Desembargador (Portuguese pronunciation: [desẽbaʁɡaˈdoʁ]) is a Portuguese title given to some appellate judges in Brazil, Portugal and other countries influenced by the Portuguese legal tradition.

Historically, the title desembargador was given to the judges of some of the higher courts of the Kingdom of Portugal and, later, of the Portuguese Empire. Namely, were desembargadores the judges of the Desembargo do Paço (supreme court), of the House of Supplication (court of appeal for the southern provinces of the Kingdom) and of the several courts of relação (regional courts of appeal). The first Relação court was created in Porto by the transformation of the former Civil House court. Additional relações were later created after in the Portuguese overseas cities of Goa (1544), Salvador da Bahia (1609), Rio de Janeiro (1751), São Luís do Maranhão (1812) and Recife (1821).

After the independence of Brazil from Portugal in 1822, the title continued to be applied in both countries and in the remaining parts of the Portuguese Empire to the judges of certain courts of appeal.

The Brazilian Constitution of 1988 defines desembargadores as the judges of the Courts of Justice, which are appellate courts of the state court system. Judges of the state first instance courts are called juízes de direito (judges of law).

In 2001, the Regional Federal Court for the Fourth Region determined that the judges of that court should be called desembargadores federais, instead of simply juízes federais, or federal judges, which was the name of their office until then. First instance federal judges continued being called juízes.

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