Arbitration in Brazil: Dispute in 18 Months, Not 10 Years
One paragraph in your contract changes everything
Por Lucas Ribeiro Cavalcante — OAB/CE 44.673
Arbitration in Brazil: Dispute in 18 Months, Not 10 Years
One paragraph in your contract changes everything
Por Lucas Ribeiro Cavalcante — OAB/CE 44.673
You signed the deal. It is moving. But a nagging thought keeps you up: if this goes wrong, will you be stuck in a Brazilian court you do not understand? There is a clean fix.
✘ Mito
Myth: Any arbitration clause works, Brazil is arbitration-friendly
✓ Verdade
Truth: A sloppy clause can be voided and drag you back to court
Brazil does enforce arbitration under Lei 9.307/1996 and the New York Convention. But there are two traps where a clause fails most often, and your opponent will attack there first.
Dica
Trap one: adhesion contracts. If you imposed standard terms, the other side argues your Brazilian party had no bargaining power. If that wins, your clause is dead.
“
Non-arbitrable rights also fail: criminal, family status and tax matters can never go to arbitration in Brazil
Highlight the clause in bold
Get separate party initials
Or use a separate signed document
Do this and the no bargaining power argument collapses. The record now shows deliberate, highlighted consent. Never treat this clause as boilerplate copied from a template.
What disputes can I actually arbitrate in Brazil?
Any freely transferable economic rights. The exceptions are narrow, most commercial deals qualify.
Protect your deal now. Draft a clause that holds up when it matters most.