O IMPACTO DA COVID-19 NAS RELAÇÕES JURÍDICAS: UM PANORAMA DAS RESPOSTAS JUDICIAIS EM CONFLITOS PRIVADOS NA PANDEMIA

This article presents an overview of judicial decisions in Brazil related to private disputes in which the Covid-19 pandemic was used as an argument. By analyzing judgements from 2020 and 2021, we find that these decisions generally did not consider the pandemic as a sufficient basis to grant the claimed relief. There are exceptions, commonly found in eviction actions and cuts in the supply of electricity or water. In the Court of Appeals of Rio de Janeiro, in particular, the decisions related to eviction were based on the Law of Rio de Janeiro no. 9.020/2020, which suspended the enforcement of such mandates during the pandemic period. This indicates the acceptance of the argument due to specific legislation and not as a result of the “exceptional circumstances.” The research results contribute to the understanding of how the Brazilian Judiciary dealt with the impacts of the pandemic and, consequently, its effects on private law.