Verbi gratia (For example)

1. Definition, Concept, and Legal Nature

The expression Verbi gratia, originating from Latin, translates literally as "by the grace of the word" or, in current technical usage, "for example." In legal parlance, it is used to introduce an illustration that clarifies the application of a general rule to a hypothetical or real factual situation.

Regarding its legal nature, it is not an autonomous institute of substantive law, but rather an instrument of argumentative and hermeneutic technique. Its function is integrative and clarifying. In the realm of legal logic, v.g. acts in the transition between the major premise (the norm) and the demonstration of its subsumption to possible cases, reinforcing the persuasive weight of the reasoning (ratio decidendi).

2. Historical Origin and Evolution in Law

The use of Latin phrases dates back to Roman Law, where terminological precision was fundamental to jurisprudentia. Medieval scholasticism and the reception of Roman Law in Continental Europe consolidated the use of Latin as the lingua franca of legal thought.

In Brazilian Law, the Lusitanian tradition inherited from the Philippine and Afonsine Ordinances maintained formal rigor. Evolving into contemporary Law, the use of verbi gratia ceased to be a mere rhetorical ornament to become a tool of precision. In Comparative Law, especially in Civil Law systems (such as German and French), exemplification is seen as essential to mitigate the excessive abstraction of codifications, while in Common Law, the technique resembles the use of exempli gratia (e.g.) to distinguish precedents.

3. Legal Provision and Normative Framework

Although the expression "verbi gratia" is not explicitly written in the body of modern codes—which favor the national vernacular according to Supplementary Law No. 95/1998 (which provides for the drafting of laws)—its legal basis for existence lies in the duties of clarity and reasoning.

• Federal Constitution (Art. 93, IX): Establishes that all decisions of the Judiciary bodies shall be reasoned, under penalty of nullity. The use of examples (v.g.) is a technique intrinsic to the fulfillment of this constitutional duty.
• Code of Civil Procedure (Art. 489, § 1º): Defines what is not considered a reasoned decision. The use of practical examples serves to avoid the employment of "indeterminate legal concepts without explaining the concrete reason for their incidence in the case."
• LINDB (Art. 20): In the administrative, controlling, and judicial spheres, decisions shall not be based on abstract legal values without considering the practical consequences of the decision. Verbi gratia is the vehicle for exposing these consequences.

4. Practical Application and Jurisprudential Understanding

The jurisprudence of the Superior Courts (STF and STJ) uses the phrase extensively to delimit the scope of theses established in repetitive appeals or general repercussion cases.

In the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), it is common to find the term in leading votes to illustrate what constitutes "moral damage in re ipsa." For example, when dealing with flight delays or improper registration in credit protection databases, ministers frequently use v.g. to list situations that dispense with proof of prejudice.

In the Superior Labor Court (TST), the term is recurrent in the interpretation of Art. 482 of the CLT (Just Cause). Since the list of serious offenses is typified, but behaviors are varied, jurisprudence uses verbi gratia to frame new conduct (such as the misuse of social media) within the hypotheses of "incontinence of conduct" or "misconduct."

Jurisprudential Example: In appellate decisions regarding the taxative vs. exemplificative list of the ANS, the central legal debate revolves around whether the listed coverages are the limit or merely verbi gratia of what must be offered (see controversy resolved by Law 14.454/2022).

5. Correlated Principles and Doctrinal Divergences

The application of verbi gratia correlates with the following principles:

1. Principle of Legal Certainty: By exemplifying, the judge reduces the margin of interpretive arbitrariness.
2. Principle of Dialecticity: Allows the parties to understand the logic of the judgment and to challenge it specifically.

Doctrinal Divergence: There is a debate about the risk of "restrictive exemplification." Part of the doctrine (formalist school) argues that, in criminal or tax laws (where strict legality prevails), the use of examples should not expand the scope of the incriminating or taxing norm (analogia in malam partem). Another school (finalist/teleological) argues that verbi gratia is essential to adapt the norm to social evolution, avoiding legislative obsolescence.

6. Contemporary Relevance and Practical Impacts

In the era of Digital Law and Artificial Intelligence applied to the Judiciary, the technique of exemplification gains new relevance. The parameterization of decisions requires that abstract concepts be "translated" into concrete cases to feed legal prediction algorithms.

Furthermore, the practical impact of the correct use of verbi gratia is reflected in procedural speed. A decision that uses clear examples reduces the filing of Motions for Clarification aimed at resolving obscurities or contradictions (Art. 1.022 of the CPC).