A aplicabilidade do § 8°-A do art. 85 do CPC aos honorários de sucumbência fixados em favor da defensoria pública

Abstract

This paper examines the applicability of Article 85, § 8-A of the Brazilian Code of Civil Procedure, as introduced by Law No. 14,365/2022, to the Public Defender’s Office. The provision, which establishes the OAB’s Fee Schedule as the minimum threshold for the equitable determination of attorneys’ fees, has sparked legal controversy in light of the institutional autonomy and unique legal regime of the Public Defender’s Office, both of which have been affirmed by the jurisprudence of the Federal Supreme Court. The objective of this study is to assess the arguments both supporting and opposing the applicability of the rule, in order to propose a legally coherent interpretation of the issue. Employing the deductive method and grounded in bibliographic and documentary research, the study explores the legal nature of court-awarded attorneys’ fees allocated to the institution, the legislative reform context, and the case law of the higher courts. The analysis concludes that, under the current legal framework (de lege lata), the application of the rule to the Public Defender’s Office represents the interpretation most consistent with the systemic coherence of the Code of Civil Procedure. Nonetheless, in view of the institutional tensions involved, a legislative refinement is proposed de lege ferenda: the creation of a specific fee schedule for the Public Defender’s Office to be referenced in the Code of Civil Procedure, as a definitive solution to reconcile the institution’s autonomy with the necessity of an objective valuation criterion.