STF reviews environmental and Indigenous land laws in August 2026

On August 4, 2026, the plenary of the Federal Supreme Court announced that, starting August 7, it will begin reviewing the constitutionality of laws concerning the soy moratorium, the Indigenous temporal framework, and environmental licensing. Socio-environmental organizations in Brasília mobilized to ensure that environmental protection and the rights of traditional peoples are preserved in the Court's decisions.

Indigenous temporal framework on trial

The first three actions the STF will judge refer to the so-called temporal framework, which establishes that Indigenous peoples can claim land demarcation only if the lands were occupied or disputed as of October 5, 1988, the date the Constitution was promulgated. The Extraordinary Appeal 1.017.365/SC will also be examined, which seeks the reinstatement of possession against the Xokleng People after the recognition of their territorial rights, in addition to a Declaratory Action of Constitutionality. Minister Gilmar Mendes is reporting the case, which will be heard in a virtual plenary between August 7 and 18. Ricardo Terena, legal coordinator of the Indigenous Peoples' Coordination of Brazil, says the ADIs point to “many violations of the Constitution,” highlighting the imprescriptibility of Indigenous rights. He adds that the temporal framework created “a new regime of possession reinstatement established by the Federal Supreme Court, disrespecting CNJ resolution 510 that sets the parameters for possession reinstatement.”

Soy moratorium returns to the plenary

On August 12, the STF will examine two ADIs that contest state laws of Mato Grosso and Rondônia that restrict tax benefits and land grants to companies participating in the soy moratorium. This moratorium, a twenty-year agreement, benefits firms that do not market soy cultivated on deforested areas in the Amazon after 2008. Angela Barbarulo, legal manager of Greenpeace Brazil, notes that the moratorium was responsible for preventing the deforestation of about 18,000 square kilometres in its first decade. She reports that “between 2009 and 2022, the municipalities monitored by the Soy Moratorium saw a 69% reduction in deforestation. Meanwhile, the area planted with soy in the Amazon biome grew 344% over the same period.” According to her, the decision on the moratorium represents a choice that places climate and Amazon forest protection at the core of the constitutional analysis.

Environmental licensing on the STF agenda

Also starting on August 12, in a face-to-face session, the STF will judge three ADIs that contest the constitutionality of Laws 15.190/2025 – the General Environmental Licensing Law – and 15.300/2025 – the Special Environmental License Law. Both statutes were created via provisional measure and underwent 63 presidential vetoes that were later removed by Congress. Minister Alexandre de Moraes will report the case. Suely Araújo, public-policy coordinator at the Climate Observatory, says the new laws “implode with the country's environmental licensing, which is the main tool of the National Policy for preventing environmental damage and, by far, the principal instrument of environmental control in the nation.” She warns that the combination of license exemption, self-licensing, and special environmental licensing forms an “extremely harmful combo for the environment and traditional peoples.” Alice Dandara, lawyer at the Socio-Environmental Institute, points out that “FUNAI and INCRA are having their capacity to intervene in licensing reduced. And the current laws make this very explicit.”

Organizations call for defense of the Constitution

Socio-environmental organizations continue to demand that the STF act as guardian of the Constitution. “We are demanding that the Federal Supreme Court continue to act as guardian of the Federal Constitution,” declared Suely Araújo. The set of ADIs, which totals ten but will be reduced to eight for judgment, seeks to preserve Indigenous, Quilombola, and other traditional community rights, as well as to ensure that environmental licensing remains an effective tool for environmental protection.

With information from Agência Brasil.