STJ annuls decision that removed arbitration clause based on
Feb 25, 2024 6:57:10 GMT
Post by xyz3600 on Feb 25, 2024 6:57:10 GMT
The hyposufficiency of one of the parties is not enough for the Judiciary to reject the validity of an arbitration arbitration clause before it is analyzed by the arbitration court. This is the understanding of the 3rd Panel of the Superior Court of Justice when reforming the decision that applied the Consumer Protection Code to remove the commitment clause. In the decision, the panel reaffirmed the impossibility of removing the so-called competence-competence principle, established in the Arbitration Law. According to this principle, it is up to the arbitration court to rule on the validity of the clause, before the state court can comment on the controversy. The case analyzed involved two companies in the gas energy exploration complex. After termination of the contract, one of the companies filed a lawsuit questioning the act and asking for compensation for the losses suffered due to the breach of contract.
The ruling rejected the preliminary arbitration agreement provided for in the adhesion contract as it understood that the economic disparity between the companies hindered the company's ability to establish favorable contractual conditions, and its consent to the arbitration clause could not be Middle East Mobile Number List presumed. The Rio Grande do Norte Court of Justice upheld the ruling that upheld the compensation claim, similarly applying CDC rules to justify the removal of the arbitration clause. According to the case's rapporteur, minister Paulo de Tarso Sanseverino, the TJ-RN, based on alleged hyposufficiency, improperly applied CDC rules to rule out the prevalence of the arbitration clause.
This decision is directly contrary to the jurisprudential line of this Superior Court, which interprets the rule extracted from the sole paragraph of article 8 of the Arbitration Law as mandatory and binding, derogating from state jurisdiction", he explained. Sanseverino highlighted that the allegation of nullity of the arbitration clause — as well as the contract that contains this rule — must be submitted, firstly, to the arbitration court for deliberation. The alleged hyposufficiency, according to the rapporteur, is not a sufficient reason to rule out the effects of an existing, valid and effective arbitration clause. "It should be noted that the contract, even standardized, was agreed between two companies that operate in the complex field of gas energy exploration activities, and it is not possible to recognize the hyposufficiency of either of them for the purpose of analogous application of the CDC, although it may exist an asymmetry between them", he explained. With information from the STJ Press Office.
The ruling rejected the preliminary arbitration agreement provided for in the adhesion contract as it understood that the economic disparity between the companies hindered the company's ability to establish favorable contractual conditions, and its consent to the arbitration clause could not be Middle East Mobile Number List presumed. The Rio Grande do Norte Court of Justice upheld the ruling that upheld the compensation claim, similarly applying CDC rules to justify the removal of the arbitration clause. According to the case's rapporteur, minister Paulo de Tarso Sanseverino, the TJ-RN, based on alleged hyposufficiency, improperly applied CDC rules to rule out the prevalence of the arbitration clause.
This decision is directly contrary to the jurisprudential line of this Superior Court, which interprets the rule extracted from the sole paragraph of article 8 of the Arbitration Law as mandatory and binding, derogating from state jurisdiction", he explained. Sanseverino highlighted that the allegation of nullity of the arbitration clause — as well as the contract that contains this rule — must be submitted, firstly, to the arbitration court for deliberation. The alleged hyposufficiency, according to the rapporteur, is not a sufficient reason to rule out the effects of an existing, valid and effective arbitration clause. "It should be noted that the contract, even standardized, was agreed between two companies that operate in the complex field of gas energy exploration activities, and it is not possible to recognize the hyposufficiency of either of them for the purpose of analogous application of the CDC, although it may exist an asymmetry between them", he explained. With information from the STJ Press Office.