(EU) and the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR)? - FDCL
(EU) and the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR)? - FDCL
(EU) and the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR)? - FDCL
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100<br />
Brazilian Constitution. This would be <strong>the</strong> case if article 184 <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Constitution 288 was<br />
to be applied, which provides for <strong>the</strong> expropriation <strong>of</strong> unused l<strong>and</strong> in <strong>the</strong> framework<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> agrarian reform with compensation payments in <strong>the</strong> form <strong>of</strong> so-called “títulos<br />
da dívida agrária”, i.e., compensation in no freely convertible currency. Unused l<strong>and</strong>,<br />
which e.g. belongs to foreign investors, could <strong>the</strong>reby not be treated in accordance<br />
with <strong>the</strong> Constitution <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> BIT at <strong>the</strong> same time: o<strong>the</strong>rwise <strong>the</strong> national or <strong>the</strong><br />
international legislation would have to be broken. 289 If this BIT, e.g., should be ratified<br />
by Brazil, <strong>the</strong>n all o<strong>the</strong>r BITs ratified by Brazil would include <strong>the</strong>se same far-reaching<br />
regulations which could be claimed by any investor coming from a country which has<br />
an investment treaty with Brazil: a chain reaction.<br />
But even without <strong>the</strong> ratification <strong>of</strong> BITs it is not quite underst<strong>and</strong>able, why foreign<br />
investors <strong>and</strong> governments dem<strong>and</strong> that Brazil sign an internationally binding<br />
treaty. Brazil already has highly deregulated investment rules for FDI: The law on foreign<br />
investment <strong>of</strong> 1962 (Lei do Capital Estrangeiro LEI Nº 4.131, DE 3 DE SETEM-<br />
BRO DE 1962) is still in force, which in article 2 states that all foreign capital invested<br />
in Brazil will receive identical treatment before <strong>the</strong> law as national capital, prohibiting<br />
any discriminatory measure, which is not explicitly mentioned in <strong>the</strong> law. 290<br />
The changes to this law, which were made in 1964 by means <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> “Alteração<br />
à Lei do Capital Estrangeiro LEI Nº 4.390, DE 29 DE AGÔSTO DE 1964”, only affect<br />
<strong>the</strong> modalities for <strong>the</strong> registration <strong>of</strong> foreign capital in Brazil <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> modalities <strong>of</strong><br />
capital <strong>and</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>it-transfers, but do not affect <strong>the</strong> essence <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> principle <strong>of</strong> National<br />
Treatment defined in 1962. 291<br />
The establishment <strong>of</strong> a company in Brazil is linked to a juridical persona: according<br />
to <strong>the</strong> principle sole proprietor a juridical person is sufficient to establish a<br />
company, which, however, cannot be operative in <strong>the</strong> services sector. For this, two<br />
288 CAPÍTULO III, DA POLÍTICA AGRÍCOLA E FUNDIÁRIA E DA REFORMA AGRÁRIA, Art. 184. “Compete à União<br />
desapropriar por interesse social, para fins de reforma agrária, o imóvel rural que não esteja cumprindo sua função<br />
social, mediante prévia e justa indenização em títulos da dívida agrária, com cláusula de preservação do valor real,<br />
resgatáveis no prazo de até vinte anos, a partir do segundo ano de sua emissão, e cuja utilização será definida em<br />
lei.” Translation: CHAPTER III; AGRICULTURAL AND LAND POLICY AND AGRARIAN REFORM, Article 184. “It is<br />
within <strong>the</strong> power <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Union to expropriate on account <strong>of</strong> social interest, for purposes <strong>of</strong> agrarian reform, <strong>the</strong> rural<br />
property which is not performing its social function, against prior <strong>and</strong> fair compensation in agrarian debt bonds with<br />
a clause providing for maintenance <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> real value, redeemable within a period <strong>of</strong> up to twenty years computed<br />
as from <strong>the</strong> second year <strong>of</strong> issue, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> use <strong>of</strong> which shall be defined in <strong>the</strong> law.”<br />
289 See: Déborah Bithiah de Azevedo: Os acordos para a promoção e a proteção recíproca de investimentos<br />
assinados pelo Brasil, Consultoria Legislativa, Câmara dos Deputados, May 2001, p. 7.<br />
290 “Ao capital estrangeiro que se investir no País, será dispensado tratamento jurídico idêntico ao concedido ao<br />
capital nacional em igualdade de condições, sendo vedadas quaisquer discriminações não previstas na presente<br />
lei.” Art.2°, LEI Nº 4.131, DE 3 DE SETEMBRO DE 1962. Own translation: “The foreign capital invested in <strong>the</strong><br />
country will receive identical juridical treatment as <strong>the</strong> one granted to national capital under equality <strong>of</strong> conditions,<br />
<strong>and</strong> whatsoever discrimination which is not mentioned in this law is prohibited.”<br />
291 Alteração à Lei do Capital Estrangeiro LEI Nº 4.390, DE 29 DE AGÔSTO DE 1964: The <strong>the</strong>re changed articles are:<br />
“artigos 4º, 5º, 7º, 9º, 10, 11, o parágrafo único do artigo 25, artigos 28 e 43.”