You won arbitration abroad. Brazil says: prove it first
How the STJ recognizes your award in 2026
Por Lucas Ribeiro Cavalcante — OAB/CE 44.673
You won arbitration abroad. Brazil says: prove it first
How the STJ recognizes your award in 2026
Por Lucas Ribeiro Cavalcante — OAB/CE 44.673
Your award is airtight. The debtor is in Brazil. So why is the money still not in your account? Because in Brazil, winning abroad is only the starting gun.
“
A foreign award has zero legal effect on Brazilian soil until the STJ formally recognizes it.
This recognition is called homologacao. Skip it and your award is legally invisible in Brazil. You cannot touch a single asset your debtor holds.
✘ Mito
Myth: a valid London award enforces itself in Sao Paulo
✓ Verdade
Truth: every award must pass through the STJ in Brasilia first
Dica
Three quiet traps kill enforcement: you wait too long, the debtor moves assets, or one technical flaw in the award document the STJ treats as fatal.
Are arbitral awards easier to enforce than court judgments?
Yes. The New York Convention and Law 9.307/1996 give arbitration a pro enforcement standard.
Homologate at the STJ
Then file execucao at Federal Court
Budget time for both stages
The STJ never re judges your merits. It only checks formal conditions and Brazilian public order. But miss one requirement and recognition dies before enforcement begins.
Your victory abroad deserves to reach Brazilian soil. Secure recognition before the assets vanish.