On 24 December 2020, the New Brazilian Insolvency Act (“NBIA” – a slight misnomer, as the Act is in fact an amendment to an existing statute) was published in the official Brazilian gazette. The act implements important modifications in the field, including a few related to arbitration, which came into force on 23 January 2021….

Corruption, annulment of arbitral awards and court intervention mark the main developments for 2020 in Latin America.  Our contributors this year reported on the most important judicial decisions and legislative measures impacting the legal framework of various jurisdictions in the region. A new ‘hot topic’ arising from the COVID-19 pandemic is the interplay between arbitration…

Welcome to the Kluwer Arbitration Blog, Ms. Sámano!  We are grateful for this opportunity to learn more about the Arbitration Center of Mexico – CAM; the type of disputes it handles and the way it is addressing recent developments, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the adoption of new policies from the Andrés Manuel López…

The Chilean Supreme Court recently issued a decision that, on its face, respects party autonomy in international arbitration. But, it could do more harm than good. On September 14, 2020, the Chilean Supreme Court (the “Court”) entered a final judgement in the case CCF SUDAMERICA SPA, Rol Nº 19568-2020 (“CCF Sudamericana” or the “Decision”). The…

In 2020, we witnessed a number of interesting developments in the field of investment arbitration in Latin America. From the entry into force of the United States – Mexico – Canada Agreement (USMCA) signed over a year ago, as well as numerous cases and actions still arising from the Odebrecht scandal that became public back…

One of the many consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and the world-wide economic crisis has been the sharp increase of insolvency filings before national courts. Latin America is no stranger to this situation, having been part of the surge in business insolvencies. Brazil, in particular, has been a recent insolvency hotspot within Latin America. This…

A recent partial award on jurisdiction in Michael Lee-Chin v. the Dominican Republic debated the interpretation of dispute resolution clauses and State consent to investment arbitration. While interpreting the Free Trade Agreement between the Caribbean Community and the Dominican Republic (“CARICOM-DR FTA”), the majority concluded that Respondent gave advance consent to submit disputes to one…

The Rutas de Lima v. Metropolitan Municipality of Lima case shows how arbitral tribunals deal with corruption allegations in disputes related to government contracts. The tribunal, chaired by current ICC International Court of Arbitration President, Alexis Mourre, issued its Award this May, which came to light when the Metropolitan Municipality of Lima (the “Municipality”) requested…

US energy company TECO Guatemala Holdings, LLC (“TECO”) was awarded additional damages in a resubmitted ICSID claim against the Republic of Guatemala under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (“DR-CAFTA”).1) TECO Guatemala Holdings, LLC v. Republic of Guatemala (ICSID Case No. ARB/10/23), Award, 13 May 2020. On 13 May 2020, the resubmission Tribunal…

On February 27, 2020, the Third Division of the Colombian Council of State (“Court”) issued a judgment resolving an annulment petition submitted by a state-owned company’s subsidiary against an international arbitral award. In its judgment, the Court decided to annul the award due to the Tribunal’s failure to comply with the agreed arbitral procedure. In…

The Costa Rican court in charge of deciding upon arbitral matters recently set aside an award on the ground of the arbitrator’s failure to disclose a circumstance that could be found in the case file. In a five-page judgment dated June 27, 2019,1)Judgment from 27 June 2019, PH Chucás S.A. v. Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad,…

In 2015, Ecuador changed its General Organic Code of Processes (procedural law or COGEP) and imposed an exequatur procedure for foreign awards. The Law of Productive Development, Attraction of Investment, Employment Generation and Tax Stability (Investment Law) enacted in 2018 repealed this requirement. Nevertheless, despite this amendment, there are still practical difficulties that parties face…

The Ruta del Sol arbitral award was one of the most important awards in 2019 in Colombia and possibly in the entire region. The arbitral tribunal sitting to resolve the Ruta del Sol arbitral proceeding (the “Tribunal”) determined the consequences of securing an infrastructure concession contract in Colombia through corrupt practices and served as pioneers…

Welcome to the Kluwer Arbitration Blog, Ms. Letelier!  We are grateful for this opportunity to learn more about the Center for Arbitration and Mediation of Santiago (“CAM Santiago” for its initials in Spanish), and its administration of complex disputes, as well as about the attractiveness of Santiago as seat for international arbitration.    To start,…

Introduction In 2019, we witnessed a number of interesting developments in the field of investment arbitration in Latin America. While some of them were in line with expectations, some jurisdictions did deviate from their usual or expected approach to ISDS and surprised us in positive, but also in negative ways. Our authors did a tremendous…

2019 was a lively year for international arbitration in Latin America – especially in the international commercial arbitration arena, which is the focus of this post. Contributors to Kluwer Arbitration Blog reported mostly on favorable developments on arbitration-related legislation, case law and other initiatives. The year, however, ended with a regrettable situation in Peru, where…

It is said that states lose more times than investors in investment arbitration. Indeed, ICSID surveys reveal that while investors receive an award of costs in 41.4% of the cases, states receive a similar award of costs only in 23% of the cases, even when jurisdiction is fully declined. A case where a state prevails…

The development of the Brazilian Arbitration Act concerning the Public Administration Under the original wording of article 1 of Law no. 9.307/96 (“Brazilian Arbitration Act”), any capable person was entitled to resort to arbitration to settle disputes relating to patrimonial and disposable rights. By referring to capable persons, article 1 of the Brazilian Arbitration Act…

The Latin Lawyer – GAR Live 3rd Annual Arbitration Summit took place on Tuesday, April 30, 2019 (the “Summit”). Practitioners from the United States and Latin America gathered for a third consecutive year in Miami to discuss the importance of dispute boards in constructions contracts, the issue of social licenses, the challenges facing the energy…

In June 2019, Colombia’s Constitutional Court (the “Court”) issued a communication informing its decision on the constitutionality of the BIT between Colombia and France (the “BIT”) signed on July 10, 2014. In an unprecedented decision, the Court adjudged that the BIT is compliant with the Colombian Constitution (the “Constitution”) but conditioned its ratification to the…

Welcome to the Kluwer Arbitration Blog, Ms. Sauma!  We are grateful for this opportunity to learn more about the International Center for Conciliation and Arbitration (“CICA” for its initials in Spanish), which is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year (congratulations!), as well as about the dynamic alternative dispute resolution environment of Costa Rica.  Thank you…

International trade and investment arbitration in Latin America has come a long way over the last two decades as discussed in the book Trade Agreements, Investment Protection and Dispute Settlement in Latin America.  More recently, new generation trade and investment agreements entered into by Latin American states have progressively included innovative dispute resolution mechanisms, shaping…

In April 2019, an Argentinean court ordered a company not to initiate an investment arbitration before ICSID based on the bilateral investment treaty between the Argentine Republic and the Republic of Chile (“BIT”).  The Federal Court in Civil and Commercial Matters No. 5 (the “Court”) ordered the interim measure in a case between the Argentinean…

On March 19, 2019, an ICC tribunal seated in Paris and comprised of Claus von Wobeser (chairman), Francesca Mazza, and Horacio Grigera Naón, issued a procedural order staying the arbitration proceedings between Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (“PDVSA” for its acronym in Spanish, the Venezuelan state-owned oil company) and Petróleos Paraguayos (“PETROPAR” for its acronym in…