BRAZIL Law and Practice Contributed by: Adriana Chieco, Camila Ieracitano Macedo Maia and Mabel Tucunduva Prieto de Souza, Chieco Advogados
national pendency of proceedings objection under Brazilian procedural law. The Brazilian court will only consider discontinuing or staying the case where it is shown that a foreign judgment is already final and binding and has been duly recognised by the Superior Court of Justice (STJ).
nition of foreign decision” is concluded before Bra ‑ zil’s Superior Court of Justice. There is, however, an exception: if the decision only addresses the divorce itself and there is no partition of assets, no spousal or child maintenance and no decision regarding child custody or contact schedule, this procedure may be exempted, and the divorce can be directly validated before the Brazilian Civil Registry. 2.2 Service and Process in Financial Proceedings Service in Financial Proceedings The division of assets in divorce proceedings before the Brazilian courts may be determined within the same action that dissolves the marriage, and claims for spousal maintenance may also be brought togeth ‑ er with the divorce (see 1. Divorce ). In such cases, the liquidation and enforcement of the resulting decisions are conducted through simplified procedures ancil ‑ lary to the main proceedings, without the need for renewed service of process. Where the assets to be divided include shares in a company, their valuation generally requires separate proceedings in which both the company and the for ‑ mer spouse must be named as defendants. In such circumstances, service of process is required and may be executed by registered mail or by a court officer ( oficial de justiça ). If all reasonable steps to locate the other spouse have been exhausted, service may be executed by public notice. Post-divorce claims relating to the division of assets or spousal maintenance are also possible but must be brought into separate proceedings, with independent service of process. Process for Financial Proceedings These independent processes follow Brazilian general civil procedure, starting with a summons accompa ‑ nied by a copy of the lawsuit, followed by possible mediation or conciliation sessions, defence and reply, production of evidence and finally a court decision. During the lawsuit progress, injunctions may be grant ‑ ed to preserve evidence, grant emergency relief or prevent dissipation of assets.
2. Financial Proceedings 2.1 Choice of Jurisdiction in Financial Proceedings Jurisdictional Grounds
Spousal alimony lawsuits may be filed in Brazil when ‑ ever (i) the plaintiff is domiciled or resident in Brazil; or (ii) the defendant maintains connections to Brazil, such as owning property or receiving income. Regarding the partition of common property, this must be held before a Brazilian court or notary public if the spouses own assets in Brazil, as the country asserts exclusive jurisdiction over any assets held nationally. Contesting Jurisdiction In the cases mentioned above (lack of connecting fac ‑ tors), jurisdiction may be contested at the first proce ‑ dural opportunity. Stay of Proceedings Brazilian law adopts a system of concurrent jurisdic ‑ tion, under which proceedings pending before a for ‑ eign court do not prevent the same cause of action from being brought before the Brazilian courts, unless a final foreign judgment has been recognised by the STJ. As a result, a party may not seek a stay of pro ‑ ceedings in Brazil solely on the basis that the case is being heard abroad. Instead, it may challenge the proceedings by arguing, for example, that the Brazil ‑ ian courts lack jurisdiction to hear the case. Financial Claims After a Foreign Divorce Parties may file financial claims under Brazilian juris ‑ diction after a foreign divorce when they hold assets in Brazil or intend to require or enforce spousal main ‑ tenance. As a general rule, a foreign divorce may only be enforced in Brazil after a procedure called “Recog ‑
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