Rubens Carnelos
Lawyer at Marcos Martins Advogados
The arbitral award may be challenged by filing an action for annulment, as provided for in article 32 of Law 9.307/96, or, if judicial enforcement of the arbitral award is already underway, by challenging its enforcement, under the terms of article 525 of the CPC.
As the filing of an action for annulment is subject to a 90-day time limit, from the date of receipt of notification of the arbitral award, doubts have arisen as to whether the matters contained in article 32 of the Arbitration Law can be alleged in the challenge provided for in article 525 of the CPC after this time limit has expired[1].
The Third Panel of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), when judging REsp nº 1.928.951-TO (2021/0085653-8), recognized that, once the 90-day deadline for filing an action to annul the award has expired, the party may not raise the hypotheses set out in art. 32 of Law 9.307/96 by way of a challenge to compliance with the award.
With this understanding, the STJ recognized that a judgment debtor’s right to raise the defects that taint the arbitral award of annulment has expired, so that once the 90-day period has elapsed, the judgment debtor’s defense will be limited to the matters specified in art. 525, § 1, of the CPC.
Marcos Martins Advogados is aware of this issue and is prepared to provide qualified legal advice to its clients.
[1] Art. 525. Once the period provided for in art. 523 has elapsed without voluntary payment, a period of 15 (fifteen) days shall commence for the judgment debtor, regardless of attachment or further summons, to present an objection in the case file itself.
