Legal Guide for Foreign Investors in Brazil - Apex-Brasil

Legal Guide for Foreign Investors in Brazil
purpose of the recognition during the period in which the process is underway.
If a defendant wishes to contest a request for recognition of a foreign judgment,
the only admissible arguments are based upon: authenticity of documents,
interpretation of the judgment, and the compliance with requisites of STJ
Resolution 9. No discussion of merits is allowed, excepting on public policy
matters.
Once it is recognized by the STJ, the foreign judgment may be executed by a
first-level federal court.
Various bilateral and multilateral treaties have attempted to harmonize legal
standards with the aim of reducing uncertainties generated by the various
national laws that may apply to recognition and enforcement of foreign
judgments. Within the scope of both OAS and of MERCOSUR Brazil has signed
a number of international treaties relating to recognition and enforcement of
foreign judgments and arbitral awards.
The Inter-American Convention on the Extraterritorial Validity of Foreign
judgments and Arbitral Awards, signed in Montevideo in 1979 and ratified by
Brazil in 1997 65 , provides extraterritorial validity to any foreign judgment or
award in civil, commercial and labor cases, issued by judicial authority in the
signatory States, provided that (i) the judgment/award is considered authentic
in the State of origin, (ii) the judgment and accompanying documents have been
duly translated to the language of the State of recognition, (iii) it has been duly
certified as required by the laws of the State of recognition, (iv) it was proffered
by a competent court in the international sphere, according to the laws of the
State of recognition, (v) the defendant has been served notice of process in a
form substantially equivalent to that accepted under the laws of the State of
recognition, (vi) the parties have had the opportunity to submit a defense, (vii)
the judgment it final or has the effect of res judicata in the State of origin, and
(viii) the judgment is not manifestly against public policy principles and norms
of the State of recognition.
Though the Convention on Extraterritorial Validity goes into considerable detail
on bureaucratic requirements, it fails to define how international jurisdiction
of the State of origin is to be ascertained. To fill this gap, another convention
– the Inter-American Convention on Jurisdiction in the International Sphere for
the Validity of Foreign Judgments 66 –, was signed in 1984, but has not yet been
ratified by Brazil. This convention has been criticized for its extremely narrow
65
For the full text of the Convention, see http://www2.mre.gov.br/dai/arbitral.htm.
66
For the full text of the Convention, see http://www.oas.org/juridico/portuguese/treaties/B-50.htm
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