Originally from World Arbitration And Mediation Review (WAMR)

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COMMENT:

NUOVO PIGNONE v. PETROMEC:
AMICUS CURIAE BY THE ICC
BRAZILIAN COMMITTEE
Arnoldo Wald

I. INTRODUCTION*

On May 24, 2011, the Third Chamber of the Brazilian Superior
Court of Justice (“STJ”) unanimously reversed a decision by the
Court of Appeal of the State of Rio de Janeiro, which erroneously
considered an International Chamber of Commerce (“ICC”)
arbitral award rendered in Rio de Janeiro a “foreign award.”
Justice Nancy Andrighi referred in her opinion to the reasoning of
the amicus curiae brief submitted by the ICC Brazilian Committee
in the case.1

The decision has important implications for the enforcement
of ICC and other arbitral awards administered by foreign arbitral
institutions in Brazil. It clarifies that arbitral awards rendered by
arbitral tribunals seated in Brazil are domestic, irrespective of
whether the applicable arbitration rules belong to an institution
seated abroad.

Part II of this Article discusses the Brazilian law on
determining whether an arbitral award is domestic or foreign.
Part III provides a brief overview of the administrative character
of the ICC. Part IV discusses the STJ decision and Part V analyzes
its implications. Part VI contains the concluding remarks.