Arbitration: An Alternative Route to Avoid Lengthy Brazilian Lawsuits

Brazil's National Council for Justice ( Conselho Nacional de Justi?a (CNJ) ) annually releases a report called "Justice in Numbers" (Justi?a em Números). The most recent report, based on data collected in 2021, was published in 2022.

According to the study, there has been a one-month increase in the trial length compared to the benchmark of four years and six months set in the 2020 report. While this may be considered a minor increase, it may not necessarily reflect an overall trend, especially considering the diverse types of appeals within the Brazilian judicial system.

One issue with these benchmarks is that they don't provide a clear reflection of lawsuit durations. Brazil's judicial system encompasses a wide array of appeal types. Concerning criminal procedures for instance, the latest position from the Supreme Federal Court, which has the role in Brazil of the United States Supreme Court, is that initiating legal proceedings before a definitive decision, one that cannot be further contested or appealed, is not in accordance with the Brazilian Constitution.

Another contributing factor to the length of lawsuits in Brazil is the significant number of lawyers, which has exceeded one million and continues to grow annually.

An alternative to circumvent Brazil's judiciary is international arbitration, whose decisions are generally well-respected by Brazilian courts due to Brazil's adherence to the New York Convention (Decree 4.311 of 2002, available in Portuguese here).

However, it's important to note that not all decisions from an arbitral court will automatically be upheld by a Brazilian court. The opposing party has a 90 day window to file a lawsuit to annul the arbitral decision, as per Article 33 of Law 9.307 of 1996.

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