Brazil's National Council of Justice runs Sinapses, a national catalogue where all AI models used or developed by the Brazilian judiciary must be registered, risk-classified and — for high-risk systems — subjected to periodic audits, with about 150 active models from 29 courts an
~150
Active AI models registered (2025)
29
Courts and councils contributing (2025)
Details
Maturity
Established
Promoter
Conselho Nacional de Justiça (CNJ), built with Tribunal de Justiça de Rondônia (TJRO) and UNDP Brazil (Justiça 4.0 programme)
Period
2020–present (mandatory since 2025)
Keywords
judicial AI, algorithmic transparency, AI governance, public administration
Context
Sinapses is a national platform run by Brazil's Conselho Nacional de Justica (CNJ), originally built by the Tribunal de Justica de Rondonia and expanded nationwide with the UNDP-backed Justica 4.0 programme. First established by CNJ Resolucao n. 332/2020, it became a binding governance requirement under Resolucao CNJ n. 615/2025 (in force since 14 July 2025).
Activities
Every AI solution developed or used by a Brazilian court must be registered in Sinapses and risk-classified; high-risk systems must additionally publish a public summary of their algorithmic impact assessment and undergo periodic audits.
Results
As of 2025, Sinapses lists roughly 150 active AI models contributed by 29 courts and councils across the federal and state judiciary -- the first system-level, judiciary-wide inventory of its kind in Brazil.
Conclusions
The mandate is judiciary-specific and does not cover Brazil's executive-branch agencies, which use separate, less standardised AI oversight. The depth and rigour of individual courts' risk classifications has not yet been independently audited by a third party, so registration completeness and quality may vary across the 29 participating bodies.
Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — Platform built with UNDP technical support under the Justica 4.0 programme; no separate budget figure disclosed.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Established 2020; mandatory since 14 July 2025.
Staffing & skills
Conselho Nacional de Justica (CNJ), Tribunal de Justica de Rondonia (TJRO), UNDP Brazil (Justica 4.0 programme), participating courts' AI governance units
Conditions for success
binding resolution (CNJ 615/2025) making registration mandatory rather than voluntary
public disclosure requirement for high-risk systems' impact assessments
periodic audit obligation for high-risk systems
Common failure modes
quality and depth of individual courts' self-reported risk classifications not yet independently audited
Where it fits
Governance type
national judicial council, binding mandate
Scale
national judiciary (Brazil)
Income level
upper-middle income (Brazil)
Commonly funded by
National / regional programmes
Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.
Do you run this practice?
Claim it —
verified implementers get a public contact pathway and can propose corrections.
Data sources
Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.
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