I - INTRODUCTION
1.1 THE MINAS GERAIS ARBITRATION CHAMBER, hereinafter referred to as CHAMBER, constitutes an institutional body for the extrajudicial resolution of disputes, linked to the Federation of Industries of the State of Minas Gerais – FIEMG, with co-sponsorship of the International Chamber of Commerce of Brazil – CAMINT.
1.2 The Arbitration Rules of the CHAMBER, abbreviated as “Arbitration Rules”, shall apply whenever the arbitration clause stipulates the adoption of the arbitration rules of the CHAMBER or the Brazilian Chamber of International Commerce, or, further, when adopted by agreement between the parties.
1.3 Cases not covered by the Arbitration Rules will be governed by Law No. 9.307 of September 23, 1996, and by treaties and conventions on arbitration that are applicable in Brazilian territory.
II – THE INSTITUTION OF ARBITRATION
2.1 Anyone wishing to settle a dispute relating to available property rights in accordance with the rules of the Arbitration Rules must communicate their intention to the Secretariat of the CHAMBER, immediately indicating the subject of the dispute and its estimated value, the name, address and full qualification of the other party(ies), attaching a copy of all documents relevant to the dispute.
2.2 The Secretariat of the CHAMBER will send to the defendant party(ies) a copy of the communication and its attachments, as well as a copy of these Rules and the list of names that make up its List of Arbitrators, inviting them, within 15 (fifteen) days of receipt, to express their agreement with the institution of arbitration.
2.3 If the defendant party(ies) agree to institute arbitration, they shall appoint a regular arbitrator(s) and respective alternate(s) to act in the respective proceeding. When the parties appoint an even number of arbitrators, the president of the Board of Directors of the CHAMBER shall appoint, from among the names that are included in the List of Arbitrators of the Chamber, one more regular arbitrator and respective alternate to form part of the arbitration tribunal.
2.4 Within 10 (ten) days of the manifestation of agreement of the defendant party(ies) to institute arbitration, the Secretariat of the CHAMBER will prepare the arbitration agreement, which will contain:
a) the name, profession, marital status and domicile of the parties;
b) the name, profession and address of the arbitrator(s) appointed by the parties, as well as their alternate(s);
c) the matter that will be the subject of arbitration;
d) the place or places where the arbitration will take place, and the place where the arbitration award will be issued;
e) the authorization for the arbitrator(s) to judge by equity, outside the rules of law, if so agreed by the parties;
f) the deadline for submitting the arbitral award;
g) the determination of the fees of the arbitrator(s), and the declaration of responsibility for the respective payment and for the expenses of the arbitration;
h) the signature of 2 (two)
2.5 The parties and the arbitrator(s) must sign the arbitration agreement within 5 (five) days following the summons from the CHAMBER Secretariat to do so.
2.6 If either party, having entered into an arbitration clause, or, after agreeing to the initiation of arbitration, fails to indicate its arbitrator and respective alternate, or refuses to sign the arbitration agreement, within the time limits stipulated above, the president of the Board of Directors of the CHAMBER shall designate, from among the names that make up the List of Arbitrators of the CHAMBER, a sole arbitrator. all with the solution of the dispute. The Secretariat of the CHAMBER will prepare the arbitration agreement, observing the terms of the arbitration clause, if any, and it is up to the interested party na the initiation of arbitration requires, in accordance with the law, the summons of the other party(ies) to appear in court in order to sign the agreement.
III – REFEREES
3.1 Both members of the CHAMBER's List of Arbitrators and others who are not part of it may be appointed as arbitrators, provided that they are not prevented from doing so, under the terms of the law and subsequent rules.
3.2 The arbitrator(s) appointed for the arbitration proceedings will sign the agreement together with the parties, being bound by it for all legal purposes.
3.3 The following persons may not act as arbitrators:
a) is a party to the dispute;
b) has intervened in the dispute as an agent of either party, mediator, witness or expert;
c) is a spouse or relative up to the third degree of either party or their attorney;
d) participate in the management or administrative body of a legal entity that is a party to the dispute, or participate in its capital;
e) is a close friend or enemy of either party, or of their attorney;
f) is in any other way interested, directly or indirectly, in the judgment of the case in favor of either party.
3.4 Should any of the situations referred to in the previous item occur, the arbitrator must immediately declare his/her impediment and refuse to be appointed, or present his/her resignation, even when he/she has been appointed by consensus of the parties, remaining personally liable for any damages caused as a result of failure to observe this duty.
3.5 If no such person has been designated in the agreement itself, the president of the arbitral tribunal shall be chosen by consensus or, if necessary, by a majority of the arbitrators appointed by the parties, at the first session of the arbitral tribunal. If neither consensus nor a majority is reached, the president of the Board of Directors of the CHAMBER shall designate the president of the arbitral tribunal.
IV- ATTORNEYS
4.1 The parties may be represented by attorneys, who are lawyers legally qualified to practice the profession, with sufficient powers to act on behalf of the represented party in all acts relating to the arbitration proceedings.
4.2 Unless expressly provided otherwise in the Rules, all communications, notifications or summons of procedural acts shall be made to the party or to the attorney appointed by it, in person or by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt.
V – PROCEDURE
5.1 Once the arbitration has been instituted, the president of the arbitration court will appoint a secretary, who will draw up the terms of commencement of proceedings, which will include all procedural issues that the arbitrator(s) deem relevant to the proper conduct of the proceedings.
5.2 The arbitration court shall initially attempt to reach an agreement between the parties. If the agreement fails, the arbitration court shall grant the parties a period of 15 (fifteen) days to submit their written arguments, including a list of the evidence they intend to produce.
5.3 Within 5 (five) days of receiving the parties' allegations, the president of the arbitration tribunal will designate the time and place of the evidentiary hearing, which must be held within a period of no more than 30 (thirty) days from its designation, in which each party will conclude the production of its evidence and will comment on the allegations of the other(s).
5.4 The parties may, up until the date of the hearing, present all evidence they deem useful for the investigation of the case and for the clarification of the arbitrators, with the arbitration tribunal being responsible for deciding on the admissibility of the evidence presented.
5.5 The evidence will be presented to the arbitration court, which will notify the other party(ies) thereof, so that they can respond within 5 (five) days, extendable for the same period, at the discretion of the arbitration court.
5.6 If any of the arbitrators considers it necessary, for their own conviction, to conduct a hearing outside the seat of the arbitration, the president of the arbitral tribunal shall determine the day, time and place for the hearing, informing the parties thereof, so that they may attend it, if they so wish.
5.7 Expert evidence shall be admitted when, in the discretion of the arbitral tribunal, it is necessary to establish a matter of fact that cannot be clarified in any other way. Expert evidence may be requested by the party that so desires, or determined by the arbitral tribunal, and must be provided by a single expert appointed by the tribunal from among persons with recognized expertise in the subject matter of the dispute, up until the date of the hearing. If the expert opinion is granted, the arbitral tribunal shall present the questions it deems necessary, allowing the parties to present questions within a common period of 5 (five) days.
5.8 The hearing shall be held by the president of the arbitration tribunal, with the presence of the other arbitrators and the secretary, on the designated day, time and place.
5.9 Once the hearing has been held, the president of the arbitration tribunal will invite the parties and/or their attorneys to present their allegations and evidence, with the claimant party speaking first, followed by the defendant(s).
5.10 The evidence to be produced at the hearing will be carried out after the allegations, starting with the expert's clarifications, followed by the personal testimony of the parties and, afterwards, the questioning of listed witnesses.
5.11 If any witness refuses to appear at the hearing, or refuses to testify without legal reason, the president of the arbitral tribunal may, at the request of either party or ex officio, request the judicial authority to take appropriate measures to take the testimony of the absent witness.
5.12 The secretary shall provide, at the request of either party, a copy of the statements taken at the hearing, as well as the services of sworn interpreters or translators, with the party requesting this being responsible for collecting the estimated cost from the Chamber Secretariat in advance.
5.13 The hearing will take place even if either party, duly summoned, fails to appear, but the judgment cannot be based on the absence of a party to decide.
5.14 The postponement of the hearing will only be granted for a relevant reason, at the discretion of the president of the arbitration court, who will immediately designate a new date for the hearing to be held.
5.15 Once the investigation is concluded, the arbitration court will grant the parties a common period of 10 (ten) days to present their final arguments.
5.16 The arbitration court shall issue a ruling within 60 (sixty) days, counting from the end of the period for the parties' final arguments, unless another period has been set in the agreement.
5.17 The arbitration award shall be decided by majority vote in a conference, with each arbitrator having one vote, including the president of the arbitration tribunal. The arbitrator who disagrees with the majority must justify the dissenting vote, which shall be transcribed in the award.
5.18 The award shall be reduced to writing by the president of the arbitration court and shall be signed by all the arbitrators, although the signature of the majority shall be sufficient for its effectiveness, should any of them demonstrably refuse or be unable to sign it.
5.19 The arbitral award shall contain:
a) the report, with the names of the parties, and a summary of the dispute;
b) the grounds for the decision, where the questions of fact and law will be analyzed, with express mention, where applicable, that it was made based on equity;
c) the device, in which the arbitrator(s) will resolve all the issues submitted and set the deadline for compliance, if applicable;
d) the date and place where it was
5.20 The sentence will also contain the determination of the costs and expenses of the arbitration, in accordance with the CHAMBER's Administrative Fees and Honoraria table, as well as the responsibility of each party in paying these installments, respecting the limits of the agreement.
5.21 The award shall be disclosed to the parties by the president of the arbitration tribunal by the last day of the period set for its issuance, and each party shall receive an original copy. The Secretariat of the CHAMBER shall keep in its files a copy of the award, duly authenticated by the president of the arbitration tribunal.
5.22 The parties are obliged to comply with the arbitration award in the manner and within the time period set forth therein, and no appeal will be admitted, except for the actions and defenses expressly provided for in Brazilian arbitration law.
VI – Administrative feeS, HONORARIUMS AND OTHER EXPENSES
6.1 The Board of Directors of the CHAMBER will prepare the Table of Administrative fees and Honoraria, to be applied in the arbitration procedures administered by the CHAMBER, which may be periodically reviewed by the same Board of Directors.
6.2 The Administrative fee will be charged by the CHAMBER based on the economic value of the dispute, and will be intended to cover the CHAMBER's operating expenses.
6.3 The fees of the arbitrator(s) shall be set in each case by the Board of Directors, within the minimum and maximum limits established in the aforementioned Table, with due consideration to the economic value of the dispute, the complexity of its subject matter, the time to be spent by the arbitrator(s) and other relevant circumstances of the case.
6.4 When requesting the institution of arbitration proceedings under the auspices of the CHAMBER, the interested party must deposit the amount set by the Secretary General to cover the initial expenses until the arbitration agreement is signed, an amount that will not be subject to reimbursement.
6.5 When signing the arbitration agreement, each party will deposit 50% (fifty percent) of the amount corresponding to the Administrative fee and the fees of the arbitrator(s), according to the criteria defined in these Rules.
6.6 In the event of non-payment by either party of the Administrative fee and/or the fees of the arbitrator(s), within the time and amounts stipulated, the other party may advance the respective amount in order to allow the arbitration to take place, with the accounts being settled at the end of the arbitration proceedings.
6.7 The expenses incurred in carrying out the arbitration shall be borne by the party requesting the respective measure, or by both parties if the measure is initiated by the arbitrator or the arbitral tribunal.
6.8 The losing party in the arbitration will be responsible for paying the Administrative fee, the fees of the arbitrator(s) and other expenses incurred in the arbitration proceedings, unless the parties have agreed in the agreement that they will be jointly responsible for paying the aforementioned costs.
6.9 No additional amount shall be charged to the parties in the event that the arbitrator(s) or the arbitral tribunal is/are requested to correct any material error in the arbitral award, to clarify any obscurity, doubt or contradiction therein, or to pronounce on an omitted point on which the decision should have been made.
VII – FINAL PROVISIONS
7.1 It will be up to the arbitrator(s) to interpret and apply these Rules in everything that concerns their competence, duties and prerogatives.
7.2 Any dispute between the arbitrators concerning the interpretation or application of these Rules shall be resolved by the president of the arbitral tribunal, whose decision in this regard shall be final.
7.3 The arbitration procedure will be strictly confidential, and the members of the CHAMBER, the arbitrators and the parties themselves will be prohibited from disclosing any information to which they have access as a result of their office or their participation in the process, without the consent of all parties and the president of the CHAMBER.
7.4 This Rules will be registered at the Registry Office of Titles and Documents of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, and may only be changed by resolution of the Board of Directors of the Federation of Industries of the State of Minas Gerais – FIEMG, upon proposal by the Board of Directors of the CHAMBER.
