A atuação probatória ex officio pelo juiz no incidente da desconsideração da personalidade jurídica: à luz dos princípios constitucionais do contraditório e da ampla defesa

Abstract

The present study aims to analyze the judge’s ex officio evidentiary activity in the Incident of Disregard of Legal Entity (IDLE) under the perspective of the constitutional principles of adversarial proceedings and full defense. The research starts from the observation that, although the Brazilian Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) expressly regulates the incident in Articles 133 to 137, it contains no specific provision regarding the judge’s power to order the production of evidence on their own initiative, which raises debates about the limits of judicial fact-finding powers. The study examines the balance between the pursuit of effective judicial protection and the preservation of fundamental procedural guarantees. The first chapter addresses the concept and legal regulation of the incident within Brazilian law; the second explores the judge’s evidentiary powers and the scope of Article 370 of the CPC; and the third discusses the compatibility of such ex officio activity with the principles of full defense, adversarial proceedings, and judicial impartiality. The conclusion reached is that the judge’s ex officio evidentiary activity must be exercised with caution, respecting the limits imposed by the Constitution and procedural principles, so as to harmonize procedural efficiency and effectiveness with the protection of the parties’ fundamental rights.