Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court unanimously upheld a Paraná law that gives people with disabilities twice as much free parking time as other customers.
Where a parking facility offers no free period to other customers, the law guarantees at least 30 minutes without charge. The Brazilian Association of Shopping Centers challenged the measure, arguing that the state had intruded on federal authority over civil law and the commercial use of private property.
Justice Kassio Nunes Marques, the case rapporteur, said the added benefit promotes accessibility rather than regulating property. He said it compensates for the extra time people with disabilities or reduced mobility may need to get out of a car and enter a business. The ruling also covers valet parking services.
The decision applies only in Paraná and does not require other states to adopt the same rule. The other justices joined Marques unanimously.