Superior Military Court (Brazil)

The Superior Military Court (Brazilian Portuguese: Superior Tribunal Militar, STM) is a body of Brazil's Military Justice system, composed of fifteen life-tenured justices appointed by the president of the Republic after approval by the Federal Senate. Of the fifteen members, three are selected from among general officers of the Navy, four from among general officers of the Army, and three from among general officers of the Air Force — all on active duty and at the highest rank of their respective careers — while five are civilians.^[1]

The civilian ministers are appointed by the president of the Republic from among Brazilian citizens over thirty-five and under seventy years of age. Three must be lawyers of notable legal knowledge and unblemished reputation with more than ten years of effective professional activity, and two are chosen, on a parity basis, from among military judges (auditor judges) of the Military Justice system and members of the Military Public Prosecutor's Office.

The STM has jurisdiction to hear appeals and other legal remedies against decisions issued by first-instance military judges, in accordance with Article 124 of the Federal Constitution. At the state level, a state military justice system may be established, composed in the first instance of judges of law and Councils of Justice, and in the second instance by the respective Court of Justice or by Military Courts of Justice in states whose military forces exceed twenty thousand members, in accordance with Article 125, paragraph 3 of the Federal Constitution.

The current president is Maria Elizabeth Rocha, and the vice-president is Francisco Joseli Parente Camelo, since 12 March 2025. This is the first time the court has been presided over by a woman.^[2]