By: Felipe Hermanny

Last Friday, June 4, 2021, Brazil took an important step towards promoting international commerce, entering the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, known as the Singapore Convention. This means that Brazil is very close to allow the enforcement of settlement agreements reached via mediation arising from international commercial disputes.

The Singapore Convention applies only to international commercial disputes. Consumer, employment and family-related matters fall outside its limits.

Currently, there are 54 signatories to the Singapore Convention – among them major trading nations such as the US, South Korea and India.

For the Convention to enter into full force in the Brazilian framework, some legislative procedures, such as approval by Congress and ratification by the President, are still needed.

When the Convention comes into force, parties seeking enforcement of a mediated settlement agreement across borders can do so by applying directly to the courts of the signatory countries.

We have witnessed very positive results in Brazil from international commercial arbitration resulting from the signing and subsequent ratification of the New York Convention and look forward to further v=benefits rising from ratification of the Singapore Convention