Fourteen Years with Brazil's Arbitration Law
Fourteen years have passed since Brazil enacted legislation to govern arbitration (Law No. 9.307 of 1996 - the "Arbitration Law"). Inspired by international parameters, the Arbitration Law at first met resistance from conservative jurists, who initially challenged the seriousness of arbitral proceedings.
Fortunately, a more balanced view of the law has prevailed as experience with its provisions has grown. Features such as confidentiality, the ability to choose the arbitrators who will preside over the proceeding, and the relative speed with which arbitrations may be concluded have contributed to its popularity and led to its adoption by parties to contracts as the means by which they will resolve disputes.
In confirmation of these trends, the Getúlio Vargas Foundation recently published the results of a study conducted between 2005 and 2009 about the use of arbitration in Brazil in five international chambers of commerce in the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais. The study demonstrated a marked increase in the use of arbitration: in financial terms, the volume of arbitral awards increased from R$247 million to R$2.4 billion. In addition, the number of proceedings filed in these five chambers increased from twenty-one to 134 arbitrations per year.
The international arbitral community has also begun to focus on Brazil, which hosted the 2010 Congress of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration ("ICCA"). The ICCA, which is recognized as the most important international arbitration conference, had not held its annual congress in Latin America in thirty-two years.
It is our expectation that arbitration will continue to grow in popularity in Brazil. In the fourteen years since the Arbitration Law was enacted, arbitration in Brazil has overcome initial skepticism, gained the admiration of the international community and, above all, proved to be a more efficient means for the resolution of disputes.
Mariana Capela Lombardi
Aline Beatriz Henriques Dias
