Legal and technical basis of the sentences of the Special Courts of the Public Treasury of Rio de Janeiro (RJ), 2012-2018

Abstract

The paper analyzes the decisions and sentences’ factual and legal reasons issued by the Special Courts of the Public Treasury of the city of Rio de Janeiro (2012-2018). We sought to know how decisions on drug orders are made, seeking legal arguments, opinions from the Court's Technical Support Center (TSC) and scientific evidence. 19,773 processes were retrieved, a 500 processes simple random sample was select and 290 about drugs. In 94.1% of the cases, the decision was based on medical report, followed by the medical prescription and, although TSC consultation is mandatory, the technical opinion was present in 22.2%. Of 221 judgments of merit, 94.6% were based on article 196 (Federal Constitution); 85.5% in jurisprudence of the higher courts and 62.5% rejected theses of the Public Treasury from the reservation of the possible and principle of budgetary legality. Most requested drugs treated endocrine-metabolic diseases, kidney diseases, obstetric complications, immune and inflammatory diseases. Only 32% had scientifically based drug recomendation, 14% "not recommended" and 54% "recommended without a scientific basis". It is concluded that the technical opinion is little used, but when present does not explain scientific evidence since only in obstetric causes, 100% of the recommendations were scientifically based.