On August 16, 2022, the National Justice Council (CNJ) announced the development of the National System for Investigation and Recovery of Assets (Sistema Nacional de Investigação Patrimonial e Recuperação de Ativos – SNIPER), a tool for the purpose of assuring greater effectiveness to cases of enforcement of awards and compliance with verdicts in debt collection suits. The system enables unified searching for assets in the name of debtors in various databases, both open and closed.

SNIPER permits centralized access to the data of the Federal Revenue Service, Superior Electoral Tribunal, Federal Comptroller General’s Office, National Civil Aviation Agency, Maritime Tribunal, and National Justice Council, for identification of the assets registered in the name of recalcitrant debtors, both individuals and companies.

In this sense, SNIPER has the objective of serving as an instrument to facilitate identification of the assets of parties with debts resulting from lawsuits in the enforcement/compliance phase.

SNIPER may only be used by members of the judicial branch, more specifically by judges, clerks and other personnel of court systems that adhere to the Digital Platform of the Judiciary (PDPJ).

The request for consultation of SNIPER must be formulated via a motion in the collection suit itself. The result of the search will be included in the case record file and can indicate the existence of a range of assets in name of the debtor, including information on equity holdings, bank accounts and tax returns.

The tool is undergoing the initial experimentation stage, during which it will be scrutinized by lawyers and members of the judiciary.

More information regarding SNIPER can be found at the website of the CNJ (www.cnj.jus.br).