Historically, the title desembargador was given to the judges of some of the higher courts of the Kingdom of Portugal and, later, of the Portuguese Empire. Desembargadores were judges of the Desembargo do Paço (supreme court), of the House of Supplication (court of appeal for the southern provinces of the Kingdom) and of the several courts of relação (regional courts of appeal). The first Relação court was created in Porto by the transformation of the former Civil House court. Additional relações were later created after in the Portuguese overseas cities of Goa (1544), Salvador da Bahia (1609), Rio de Janeiro (1751), São Luís do Maranhão (1812) and Recife (1821).
