CAM-CCBC establishes rules for procedure of an expedited arbitration

By Sérgio Siscaro

Since February 1st of this year, a new possibility of conducting the process is available to the parties that choose CAM-CCBC to administer arbitration proceedings. Administrative Resolution 46/2021 was published, regulating expedited arbitration of CAM-CCBC, and inaugurating a faster and more efficient arbitration process format for the resolution of enterprise disputes.

The new regulation will be automatically applied to arbitrations agreements signed after the Resolution comes into force, and which amount to not more than R$ 3 million in dispute. Alternatively, and if there is an specific agreement between the parties, the expedited arbitration rules may be applied to proceedings originated from arbitration agreements signed prior to the validity of the expedited arbitration regulation.

Speed is the most important element of this new process dynamic.  Arbitral proceedings subjected to Administrative Resolution 46/2021 will experiment the possibility of reducing the deadlines set forth in the standard regulations, in addition to reducing administrative costs. The proceeding will be conducted electronically in its entirety, and will not exceed ten months, counted from the signing of the Arbitration Term until the beginning of the deadline for the delivery of the final award (according to article 2.15 of Resolution 46/2021).

The expedited arbitration will be conducted and judged by a single arbitrator (unless otherwise agreed), and the Tribunal’s function is to ensure the speed of the procedure and the equal treatment of the parties.

According to the Centre’s Secretary General, Patricia Kobayashi, the main contribution of the expedited arbitration procedure is to adapt the standard rules, so that the cases can be more agile. “This is an incentive system for the parties, and for the Arbitration Tribunal as well, for the organization of the procedural acts in this ten-month period”, she says.

Cost-Benefit Relationship

The main incentive for the parties in the proceeding is the lower costs – since both the administration fee and the Tribunal’s remuneration are much lower than CAM-CCBC’s standard table of expenses. “For instance, having only one arbitrator already represents a considerable reduction in costs. It also allows decisions to be more agile, since they will not be issued by a collegiate of three arbitrators”, Kobayashi considers.

The application of the Expedited Arbitration Regulation to proceedings that present a value of the cause below R$ 3 million is not synonymous with low complexity of the arbitration proceeding.  Litigation involving complex contracts that meet the value requirement of the cause may make use of the expedited regulation, taking advantage from the economic advantages brought by it. Moreover, the Administrative Resolution does not jeopardize the production of evidence, but, for the sake of speed, stipulates that it should occur efficiently.

In summary, CAM-CCBC’s Expedited Arbitration Regulation brings together speed and favourable cost-benefit ratio without renouncing the extensive CAM-CCBC experience in managing procedures. It is also a stimulus to the Arbitration Tribunal and parties in the search for a satisfactory final award, in a short period of time, thus promoting procedural justice appropriate to a specific niche of disputes.

Administrative Resolution 46/2021 is already available on CAM-CCBC website, at https://ccbc.org.br/cam-ccbc-centro-arbitragem-mediacao/ra-46-2021-regulamento-de-arbitragem-expedita/.