Key Benefits:
DECREE NO. 6,891, OF July 2, 2009.
Promuling the Agreement on Cooperation and Jurisdictional Assistance in Civil, Commercial, Labor and Administrative Matters between the States Parties to Mercosur, the Republic of Bolivia and the Republic of Chile.
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC, in the use of the assignment that confers it on art. 84, inciso IV, of the Constitution, and
Considering that the National Congress has approved, by means of Legislative Decree no 1,021, of November 24, 2005, the Agreement on Cooperation and Jurisdictional Assistance in Civil, Commercial, Labour and Administrative Matters between the States Parties to Mercosur, the Republic of Bolivia and the Republic of Chile, signed in Buenos Aires, on July 5, 2002;
Considering that the Brazilian government deposited the instrument of ratification of the aforementioned Agreement to the Republic of Paraguay on March 28, 2006;
Whereas the Agreement entered into force for Brazil, in the external legal plan, on February 8, 2009;
DECRETA:
Art. 1o The Agreement on Cooperation and Jurisdictional Assistance in Civil, Commercial, Labor and Administrative Matters between the States Parties to Mercosur, the Republic of Bolivia and the Republic of Chile, apensed by copy to the present Decree, will be executed and fulfilled as entirely as it contains.
Art. 2º Are subject to the approval of the National Congress any acts that may result in revision of the said Agreement or that carries charges or commitments engraved to the national heritage, pursuant to art. 49, inciso I, of the Constitution.
Art. 3º This Decree comes into effect on the date of its publication.
Brasilia, July 2, 2009; 188the of Independence and 121o of the Republic.
LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA
Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim
COOPERATION AGREEMENT AND JURISDICTIONAL ASSISTANCE IN CIVIL, COMMERCIAL, LABOR AND ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS BETWEEN THE STATES PARTIES OF MERCOSUR AND THE REPUBLIC OF BOLIVIA AND THE REPUBLIC OF CHILE
The Argentine Republic, the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Republic of Paraguay, the Eastern Republic of Uruguay, States Parties to the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR), and the Republic of Bolivia and the Republic of Chile, all henceforth termed?States Parties?, for the purpose of this Agreement;
CONSIDERING the Protocol of Cooperation and Jurisdictional Assistance in Civil, Commercial, Labour and Administrative Matters, approved in the Valle de Las Leñas, Argentine Republic, by Decision no 5/92 of the Common Market Council, beholdment in the four States Parties of MERCOSUR;
HAVING REGARD to the Economic Supplementation Agreement no 36 signed between MERCOSUR and the Republic of Bolivia; the Economic Supplementation Agreement no 35 signed between MERCOSUR and the Republic of Chile and the Common Market Council Decisions (CMC) no 14/96?Participation of third countries associated in Meetings of MERCOSUR? and no 12/97?Participation of Chile in Meetings of MERCOSUR?;
REAFFIRMING the willingness to agree solutions common legal ones with the aim of strengthening the integration process;
DESIROUS of to promote and intensify jurisdictional cooperation in civil, commercial, labour and administrative matters in order to thus contribute to the development of their integration relations on the basis of the principles of respect for national sovereignty and to the equality of reciprocal rights and interests;
CONVINCED that this Agreement will contribute to the equestic treatment of nationals, citizens and permanent or customary residents of the States Parties to MERCOSUR and the Republic of Bolivia and the Republic of Chile, and will facilitate them free access to the jurisdiction in the cited States for the defense of your rights and interests;
AWARE of the importance it has for the process of integration the adoption of common instruments that consolidate legal certainty,
AGREE:
CHAPTER I
Cooperation and Jurisdictional Assistance
Article 1
States Parties commit to pay mutual assistance and extensive jurisdictional cooperation in civil, commercial, labor and administrative matters. Judicial assistance in administrative matters shall understand, in accordance with the domestic law of each State, the administrative contentious procedures in which appeals are admired before the courts.
CHAPTER II
Central authorities
Article 2
For the purposes of this Agreement, States Parties shall indicate a Central Authority tasked with receiving and giving progress to requests for jurisdictional assistance in civil, commercial, labor and administrative matters. To do so, the Central Authorities will communicate directly with each other, allowing the intervention of the respective competent authorities, where necessary.
The States Parties, when depositing the instruments of ratification of this Agreement, they will communicate this providence to the depositary Government, which of it will give notice to the remaining states.
The Central Authority could be replaced at any time, owing to the State respective to communicate the fact, at the earliest possible time, to the depositary Government of this Agreement, to give notice to the remaining States Parties of the substitution effectuated.
CHAPTER III
Equality of Procedural Treatment
Article 3
Nationals, citizens, and permanent or habitual residents of one of the States Parties shall enjoy, in the same conditions of nationals, citizens and permanent or habitual residents of another State Party, from free access to the jurisdiction of that State to the defence of their rights and interests.
The preceding paragraph shall apply to legal persons constituted, authorised or registered in accordance with the laws of any of the States Parties.
Article 4
No surety or deposit, whatever its denomination, may be imposed on the grounds of the quality of national, citizen or permanent resident or habitual of another State Part.
The preceding paragraph shall apply to legal persons constituted, authorised or recorded as per the laws of any of the States Parties.
CHAPTER IV
Cooperation in Activity of Simple Tramite and Probattories
Article 5
Each State Party should send to the jurisdictional authorities of the other State Party, as provided for in Articles 2 and 10, letter rogatory in civil, commercial, labor or administrative matters, when it has per object:
a) representations of simple tramite, such as citations, subpoenas, citations with definite deadline, notifications, or other similar;
b) receiving or obtaining evidence.
Article 6
The rogatory letters must contain:
a) denomination and domicile of the requesting jurisdictional body;
b) individualization of the expedient, with specification of the object and nature of the judgment and of the name and domicile of the parties;
c) copy of the initial petition and transcript of the decision mandating the dispatch of the rogatory letter;
d) name and domicile of the solicitor of the requesting party in the requested State, if any;
e) indication of the object of the rogatory letter, with the name and domicile of the recipient of the measure;
f) information on the time limit for which the person affected by the measure for cumpits has been provided;
g) description of the special forms or procedures with which there will be to comply with the cooperation requested;
h) any other information that facilitates the fulfillment of the rogatory letter.
Article 7
In the case of being asked for receipt of evidence, the rogatory letter should also contain:
a) description of the subject that facilitates the probatory due diligence;
b) name and domicile of witnesses or other persons or institutions that should intervene;
c) texts from the interrogations and required documents.
Article 8
The rogatory letter should be abated from office by the competent jurisdictional authority of the requested State, and will only be able to denigrate when the requested measure, by its nature, attest against the principles of public order of the requested State.
The said compliance will not imply recognition of the international jurisdiction of the judge of which emana.
Article 9
The requested jurisdictional authority will have competence to know about the issues that are raised when the compliance of the requested due diligence.
Should the requested jurisdictional authority declare itself incompetent to receive the tramping of the letter rogatory, will refer from office the documents and the background of the case to the competent jurisdictional authority of his State.
Article 10
The letters rogatory will be able to be transmitted via diplomatic or consular via the respective Central Authority or by the interested parties, in accordance with the internal law.
Case the transmission of the rogatory letter is effected through the Authorities Central or via diplomatic or consular route, the requirement of legalization will not be required.
In case it is transmitted through the interested party, it should be legalized by the diplomatic or consular agents of the requested State, save if between the requesting State and the respondent has been removed the requirement of legalization or replaced by another formality.
The letters rogatory and the accompanying documents should be written in the language of the applicant authority and will be accompanied by a translation into the language of the requested authority.
Article 11
The requesting authority will be able to request from the requested authority information as to the place and the date on which the requested measure will be complied with in order to allow the authority applicant, interested parties or their respective representatives may attend and exercise the faculties authorized by the legislation of the requested Party.
The said communication is to be effected, in advance, by means of the Central authorities of the States Parties.
Article 12
The jurisdictional authority in charge of compliance with a rogatory letter will apply its internal law with regard to the procedures.
Notwithstanding, the rogatory letter may have, upon request from the requesting authority, special tramway, admitting to compliance with additional formalities on the due diligence of the rogatory letter, where this is not incompatible with the public order of the requested State.
Compliance with the rogatory letter is due to take place without delay.
Article 13
By diligenizing the rogatory letter, the requested authority shall apply the coercive procedural means provided for in its internal legislation, in cases and to the extent that it should do so to comply with a precatory letter from the authorities of their own state, or an application filed with the same purpose by an interested party.
Article 14
The documents proving the compliance with the rogatory letter will be returned by the means and in the manner provided for in article 10.
When the rogatory letter has not been complied with in full or in part, this fact and the reasons for non-compliance should be communicated immediately to the requesting authority, using the means provided for in the preceding paragraph.
Article 15
Compliance with the rogatory letter will not be able to entail a refund of any kind of expense, except when probative means are requested that occasioned special costs, or are appointed experts to intervene in the due diligence.
In such cases, they should be recorded in the text of the rogatory letter the data of the person that, in the requested State, shall make the payment of the expenses and fees due.
Article 16
When data relating to the domicile of the recipient of the action or the person cited are incomplete or inaccurate, the requested authority shall exhaust all means to meet the request. For so much, it may also ask the requesting State for the supplementary data to allow the identification and location of the said person.
Article 17
The pertinent trashes for compliance of the rogatory letter shall not necessarily require the intervention of the requesting Party, and shall be practiced with an offending by the competent court authority of the requested State.
CHAPTER V
Acknowledgment and Execution of Sentences and Arbitral Lauds
Article 18
The provisions of this Chapter will be applicable to the recognition and enforcement of judgments and arbitral lauds pronounced in the jurisdictions of States Parties in civil, commercial, labor and administrative matters, and shall also apply to the judgments in respect of redress of damage and restitution of pronounced property in criminal jurisdiction.
Article 19
The recognition and execution of sentences and of arbitral lauds requested by the jurisdictional authorities may be able to trample by way of letters rogatory and transmit by intermediate of the Central Authority, or by diplomatic or consular route, in accordance with domestic law.
Notwithstanding the pointed out in the preceding paragraph, the interested party may be able to trample directly the request for recognition or execution of sentence. In such a case, the sentence should be properly legalized in accordance with the legislation of the State in which it is intended to be effective, unless between the State of origin of the sentence and the State where it is invoked, if there is suppressed the requirement of legalization or replaced by another formality.
Article 20
The sentences and the arbitral lauds referred to in the previous article will have extraterritorial effectiveness in the States Parties when they meet the following conditions:
a) that come coated with the external formalities necessary for them to be considered authentic in the states of origin.
b) that are, as well as the necessary attached documents, duly translated into the official language of the State in which it is called for its recognition and execution;
c) that emanate from a competent jurisdictional or arbitral body, according to the standards of the State required on international jurisdiction;
d) that the party against which it intends to execute the decision has been properly cited and has guaranteed the exercise of your right of defense;
and) that the decision has force of thing judged and / or enforceability in the state in which it was dictated;
f) that clearly do not contravenes the principles of public order of the State in which it requests its recognition and / or execution
The requirements of points (a), (c), (d), (e) and (f) shall be contained in the authentic copy of the sentence or of the arbitral laureate.
Article 21
The party that, in judgement, invokes a sentence or an arbitral laureate of one of the States Parties shall submit authentic copy of the sentence or of the arbitral laureate with the requirements of the precedent article.
Article 22
When it comes to a sentence or an arbitral laureate between the same parties, reasoned in the same facts, and that has the same object of another judgeisdtional process or arbitral in the requested State, its recognition and its enforceability will depend on that the decision is not incompatible with another prior or simultaneous pronouncement delivered in that process in the requested State.
In the same way you will not recognize yourself or proceed to the execution, when there is started a procedure between the same parties, reasoned in the same facts and on the same object, before any jurisdictional authority of the requested State, previously to the submission of demand before the jurisdictional authority that it has pronounced the decision of which there is a request for recognition.
Article 23
If a sentence or an arbitral laureate cannot be effective in its entirety, the competent jurisdictional authority of the requested State may admit its partial efficacy upon request from the interested party.
Article 24
The procedures, including the jurisdiction of the respective jurisdictional bodies, for the purpose of recognition and enforcement of the sentences or of the arbitral lauds, shall be governed by the law of the requested State.
CHAPTER VI
From the Public Instruments and other Documents
Article 25
The public instruments emanating from a State Party will have in the others the same probative force as their own public instruments.
Article 26
The documents emanating from jurisdictional authorities or other authorities of one of the States Parties, as well as the public scriptures and documents certifying validity, the date and truthfulness of the signature or the conformity with the original, and which are transmitted via the Central Authority, shall be exempt from all analogous legalization, certification or formality when they should be presented on the territory of the another State Party.
Article 27
Each State Party shall refer, through the Central Authority, at the request of another State and for exclusively public purposes, the trassides or certificates of the seats of the marital status records, at no cost.
CHAPTER VII
Foreign-law information
Article 28
The Central Authorities of the States Parties provide each other with each other, in the title of judicial cooperation, and provided that they do not object to the provisions of their public order, information in civil, commercial, labor, administrative and private international law, without any expense.
Article 29
The information referred to in the preceding article may also be provided by means of informs provided by the diplomatic or consular authorities of the State Party of whose right is about.
Article 30
The State Party that provides the information about the sense and legal reach of its right will not be responsible for the opinion issued, nor will it be obligated to apply its right, second the answer provided.
The State Party that receives the cited information will not be obligated to apply, or do apply, the foreign law according to the content of the response received.
CHAPTER VIII
Queries and Controversies Solutions
Article 31
The Central Authorities of the States Parties will hold consultations in the opportunities that are mutually convenient with the purpose of facilitating the application of this Agreement.
Article 32
The States Parties, in the event of controversy over the interpretation, application or non-compliance of the provisions of this Agreement, will seek to resolve it by negotiation direct diplomatic.
CHAPTER IX
Finals provisions
Article 33
This Agreement shall not restrict the provisions of the Conventions which, on the same matter, have been previously signed between the States Parties, as long as they are more beneficial for cooperation.
Article 34
This Agreement shall enter into force 30 (thirty) days after the instruments of ratification have been deposited by two States Parties of MERCOSUR and the Republic of Bolivia or the Republic of Chile.
For the remaining signatories, it will enter into force on the thirtieth day later than the deposit of its respective instrument of ratification.
Article 35
The Government of the Republic of Paraguay shall be the depositary of this Agreement and of the instruments of ratification, and shall send duly certified copies of them to the Governments of the too many States Parties.
The Government of the Republic of Paraguay shall notify the Governments of the remaining States Parties to date of the entry into force of this Agreement and the date of deposit of the instruments of ratification.
Made in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentine Republic, at the five (5) days of the month of July from 2002, in an original copy, in the Portuguese and Spanish languages, being both texts being equally authentic.
By the Republic of Argentina
Carlos Ruckauf
By the Federative Republic of Brazil
Celso Lafer
By the Republic of Paraguay
José Antonio Moreno Ruffinelli
By the Eastern Republic of Uruguay
Didier Opertti
By the Republic of Bolivia
Gustavo Fernández Saavedra
By the Republic of Chile
María Soledad Alvear Valenzuela
