Role of Amici Curiae in the Formation of Social Security Precedents:

Interpretive Disputes over Special Retirement after Constitutional Amendment Nº 103/2019

Abstract

Constitutional Amendment n° 103/2019 profoundly transformed the legal framework of special retirement, intensifying controversies regarding the social security protection afforded to workers exposed to hazardous conditions and expanding the role of higher courts in defining such rights. This article examines the participation of amici curiae in the formation of social security precedents, emphasizing their function in enhancing qualified adversarial proceedings and promoting argumentative representation within constitutional adjudication. The study adopts a hypothetical-deductive method, based on bibliographical, documentary, and case law research, through a qualitative approach. It analyzes STF Themes 555 and 1.209, STJ Theme 1.031 and ADI n° 6.309, selected due to their relevance to special retirement after the Constitutional Amendment. The findings demonstrate that the development of social security rights results from intense interpretive disputes involving social protection, financial sustainability, and legal certainty. The article concludes that the participation of amici curiae contributes to the construction of more coherent, stable, and rights-oriented precedents. instruments of social protection. The objective is to analyze how strategic social security advocacy and the amicus curiae participation can act as technical-institutional resistance mechanisms against the setbacks caused by Constitutional Amendment No. 103/2019, particularly regarding special activity and the conversion of special time into common time. The method used is hypothetical-deductive, based on the analysis of bibliographic, normative, and case law references, covering landmark precedents such as STF Theme 555, STJ Theme 1,031, and STF Theme 1,209. The results indicate that, in a social security system characterized by normative instability, lack of codification, and high judicialization, judicial precedents become vectors of legal certainty and material equality, while amicus curiae interventions contribute to socially committed and technically qualified decisions. It is concluded that the effectiveness of social security depends on strengthening robust precedents, institutional engagement of social security advocacy, and state oversight, in order to prevent rights suppression and labor informalization from undermining the essential core of social protection.