In Brazil, the flow of legal claims has experienced exponential growth in recent decades. This excessive amount of litigation caused other alternative means of conflict resolution, such as arbitration, conciliation, and mediation to emerge as an option to the traditional judicial process.

Comparisons between arbitration and traditional litigation are frequent, which is best will always depend on the specific case. However, in general, arbitration is often viewed as a more simplified and less expensive method of resolving a dispute between two parties. In addition, seeking to spread the culture of pacification between the parties, the new civil process in Brazil underwent reforms and the new legal decree, in numerous precepts, suggests self-composition.

In the panel Process Reform, Tax Justice and Arbitration, held at the 7th Lisbon Legal Forum, the reality of the judiciary and the need for alternative means of resolving disputes were discussed. The Forum is an initiative of the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV) in partnership with the Brazilian Institute of Public Law (IDP) and the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon (FDUL).

Participating in the panel were Luis Felipe Salomão, Minister of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) and professor at FGV, José Levi Mello do Amaral Júnior, Attorney General of the National Treasury and Doctor of Law from the University of São Paulo, Carlos Lobo, Doctor of Law and Professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon, Marcus Abraham, Judge of the Federal Regional Court of the 2nd Region, post-doctorate in Law from the University of Lisbon and Academic Coordinator of FGV, Nuno Villa-Lobos, President of the Administrative Arbitration Center, Souza Guimarães, Referee, Doctor of Law from the Toulouse 1 Capitole University and Professor at FGV. The mediation was led by Helcio Honda, Judge of the São Paulo State Tax and Fees Court (2004-2008).

Check out the full panel on Process Reform, Tax Justice and Arbitration at the 7th Lisbon Legal Forum: