URUGUAY Law and Practice Contributed by: Leonardo Melos, Bergstein Abogados
1. General 1.1 Prevalence of Arbitration
1.2 Key Industries Construction is one industry that has seen an increase in the number of disputes referred to arbitration. Con - struction disputes also arise from the relationships investors have with real estate developers and/or the construction trust established to build a project or plant. The credit card payments industry and the financial sector have both seen an increase in conflicts during the past couple of years. 1.3 Arbitration Institutions For international arbitration, the ICC is the most widely used arbitral institution. For local arbitration, the CCA is the most prominent. No new arbitral institution was There are no specific courts with particular jurisdic - tion to hear disputes related to international arbitra - tion. Disputes related to international arbitration com - monly fall within the jurisdiction of the civil courts first. As regards the enforcement of international arbitral awards, the Supreme Court of Justice has exclusive jurisdiction to analyse the main legal requirements for enforcement (the exequatur procedure). Once the Supreme Court of Justice has rendered a ruling on whether the legal requirements have been met, enforcement of the arbitral award will be filed with the local court that would have assumed jurisdiction over the dispute. In recent times, the Uruguayan government has begun promoting Uruguay as a leading seat for international arbitration in Latin America. This ambition is grounded in solid respect for the institutions and a new legal framework established by the Act on International Commercial Arbitration No 19.636 of 13 July 2018 (AICA). The AICA is based on the UNCITRAL Mod - el Law on International Commercial Arbitration (the “UNCITRAL Model Law”) and represents a legislative milestone for Uruguayan dispute resolution practice, as it is fully aligned with international legal standards. established in 2024–25. 1.4 National Courts 2. Governing Legislation 2.1 Governing Law
In Uruguay, domestic parties do not regularly resort to international arbitration as the primary tool to resolve disputes. The situations in which domestic parties refer disputes to arbitration or, eventually, to local courts depend on the sophistication or complexity of the dispute. Uruguay has a long-standing tradition of respect for the rule of law, which has been cemented in the independence and quality of its judges. This tradition explains a certain underdevelopment in its arbitration practice, both at the local and international levels. The main local arbitration institution is the Conciliation and Arbitration Centre ( Centro de Conciliación y Arbi- traje or CCA) created by the Uruguayan Chamber of Commerce ( Bolsa de Comercio de Uruguay ) in 1997. The CCA is a member of the ICC, the Inter-American Commission of Commercial Arbitration and the Ibero- American Centre of Arbitration. That said, international arbitration is prevalent in dis - putes involving the Uruguayan state (or state-owned companies), particularly against foreign investors. International arbitration is also significantly used for disputes between local and foreign construction com - panies involved in large construction projects. Dis - putes related to distribution agreements and conces - sions are also referred to arbitration on a regular basis. Local courts generally permit the enforcement of for - eign arbitral awards, provided the awards comply with local regulations and/or treaties ratified by Uruguay. In this respect, Uruguay ratified the first Montevideo Procedural Law Treaty (MPLT) in 1899 and the second in 1940 (“1899 MPLT” and “1940 MPLT”), which allow the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. Uruguay has also ratified the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards 1958 (the “New York Convention”) by means of Law Decree No 15.229 of 11 December 1981. Therefore, under the New York Convention, Uruguayan courts are bound to recognise and enforce foreign awards.
1121 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook