The Brazilian Senate approved amendments to the Brazilian Arbitration Act (Law 9.307 of 1996) with new provisions in support of arbitration. The text (in Portuguese) is available here.
The bill is still to be sanctioned by the President, officially promulgated, after which it undergo a 60-day period of vacatio legis before coming into force.
The amendments reinforce the pro-arbitration stance adopted by the Brazilian legal system. The new regulation consolidates many advancements stirred by case law, such as the subjective arbitrability of disputes involving the public administration, the binding effect of arbitration provisions included in bylaws or statutes, or court support for interim measures rendered in arbitration proceedings. There are also new provisions regulating the reference to arbitration of disputes relating to consumer and employment contracts, and a most convenient provision regulating the exchange of communications between courts and arbitration panels allowing for a more objective and expeditious.
