Brazil: Legal Environment

In this page: Business Contract | Intellectual Property | Legal Framework of Business | International Dispute Resolution

Business Contract

General Observation: Be precise in the description of the obligations of the contracting parties and of quality control.
Law Applicable to the Contract: In 2012, Brazil signed the Vienna Convention on International Contracts, which entered into force in the country in October 2014. The Brazilian legal system is complex. It is not easy for a foreigner to understand Brazilian law. It is recommended that you use international law or call on an arbitration system and that you get help from a Brazilian lawyer.
Language of Domestic Contract: Portuguese.
Other Laws Which Can Be Used in Domestic Contracts: The main rules of international law are likely to be accepted by a Brazilian supplier.

Intellectual Property

National Organisations: The organisation in charge of the patent protection and trademarks in Brazil is the INPI (Instituto Nacional de la Propiedad Industrial).
Regional Organisations: MERCOSUR (Mercado Común del Sur); UPOV (International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants)
International Membership: Member of the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization)
Signatory to the Paris Convention For the Protection of Intellectual Property

National Regulation and International Agreements

Type of property and law	Validity	International Agreements Signed
Patent Lei de Propriedade Industrial	20 years for inventions	Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
Trademark Lei de Propriedade Industrial	10 years, renewable
Design Lei de Propriedade Industrial	10 years, renewable three times for five years
Copyright Lei de Direitos Autorais	70 years after the death of the author or from the publication (for audio-visual and photographic works)	Berne convention For the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorized Duplication of Their Phonograms Rome ConventionFor the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations
Industrial Models Lei de Propriedade Industrial	15 years

Legal Framework of Business

Equity of Judgments

Equal Treatment of Nationals and Foreigners: Judicial power guarantees a fair trial to foreign nationals.
The Language of Justice: Portuguese
Recourse to an Interpreter: It is often necessary to resort to an interpreter if you do not speak Portuguese.
Legal Similarities: The main source of the law is the Constitution of 1988. The legal system is based on Roman codes. The civil code, inspired previously by the Napoleonic code, is nowadays closer to the Italian code.

The Different Legal Codes

Contract and property law	Lei nº 9.279 de 14 de maio de 1996
Consumer rights	Lei nº 8.078 de 11 de setembro de 1990
Company law	Lei nº 556 de 25 de junho de 1850
Labour law	Lei n° 10.406, de 10 de janeiro de 2002

Checking National Laws Online: Guide to Brazilian Law Online
Other Useful Resources: Ministry of Justice
Interlegis
Country Guides: American Secretary of State website
Lexmundi Country Guide

The Jurisdictions

State Court of Justice	All disputes, crimes and offenses on state territory. The criminal courts are themselves divided into courts of judgment and courts of appeal, and have specialized branches such as the Court of Assizes when murderers are judged by a jury of citizens, the Court for the enforcement of sentences and the Court for police cases.
Federal Court of Justice	Competent within the states for disputes involving the federal authorities or for disputes between states.
Regional Court of Federal Justice	Hears judgements on appeal given by federal judges or state judges ruling on a federal dispute.
Industrial Tribunal (local, regional, supreme court for labor)	Settles disputes between employers and employees and all cases connected with labor law.
Electoral tribunal (local, regional, supreme)	Competent for the way elections are held and the creation of political parties.
Court martial (local, superior)	Competent for crimes and offenses involving the army.
Others	Specific courts have been set up in certain States to cope with a workload which is too heavy: public finance courts, family and inheritance courts, public register courts and courts for minors.
Higher Court of Justice	Judges appeal proceedings at the federal level.
Supreme Court	Rules on constitutional issues.

Court Officials

Judge: A judge appoints a duly authorized professional who will review information in order to clarify certain elements of a case.
Lawyer: The lawyer's first role is to inform his clients about their rights and obligations. Then he can represent them in court and make a speech for the defense.
Public prosecutor: He is a magistrate who represents the Prosecution .

International Dispute Resolution

Arbitration: Arbitration has been officially recognized as a legitimate procedure for domestic and international commercial conflict resolution for 10 years. The Brazilian Court system, in general, is overburdened, and contract disputes can often take years to move through the system. According to a study by the World Bank, it takes 44 procedures and 731 days to litigate a contract breach at an average cost of 15.3% of the claim.
Arbitration Law: Law nº 9307 of 1996.
Article 34 of Brazilian Law 9.307, the 1996 Brazilian Arbitration Act, defines a foreign arbitration judgment as any judgment rendered outside the national territory. The law established that the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court must ratify foreign arbitration awards. This law also stipulates that the foreign arbitration award is to be recognized or executed in Brazil in conformity with the international agreements ratified by the country and in their absence, with domestic law.
Conformity to International Commercial Arbitration Rules: Party to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.
Appointment of Arbitrators: Chosen by the opposing parties.
Arbitration Procedure: Arbitration procedures are only accepted for cases of an economic nature. International arbitration must be ratified by the Supreme Court to be valid in Brazil. Brazilian justice can be referred to if an arbitration decision is not observed.
Permanent Arbitration Bodies: Comitê Brasileiro de Arbitragem

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