Argentina - Baker and McKenzie International Arbitration Yearbook 2014-2015

There is as yet no federal legislation in force in Argentina specifically dealing with arbitration. Instead, the country’s civil procedure codes contain arbitration regulations. Because Argentina is a federal country, each province has its own civil procedure code. The National Code of Civil and Commercial Procedure (“CPCCN”) applies to the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, and in federal courts.3 Because the provincial codes tend to be consistent with the CPCCN as to arbitration, this report covers only the CPCCN.

A.2 Trends and Tendencies

In recent years, there have been several failed attempts to enact specific arbitration legislation, typically sponsoring the adoption of the UNCITRAL model law or portions thereof. However, Argentina has very recently enacted a joint Civil and Commercial Code to replace the existing Civil Code and Commercial Code, set to take effect in 2016. The new Code includes a specific chapter regulating arbitration agreements (Sections 1649 to 1665). Although arbitration will therefore be regulated as a specific type of contract, without taking into account its jurisdictional characteristics, the new Code will at last provide some substantive federal legislation on arbitration.

The new Code incorporates several well-known and useful arbitration principles favorable to the development of arbitration in Argentina. The most relevant provisions include: (i) the principle of kompetenz-komptenz; (ii) severability of arbitration agreements; (iii) the tribunal’s power to render interim measures; (iv) exclusion of court jurisdiction when an arbitration agreement exists; (v) presumption in favor of arbitrability; and (vi) the obligation of arbitrators to be available and to disclose any matter that might affect their impartiality. Several of these principles are already applied by Argentine courts, but their express inclusion into the domestic legal system is a very positive development.