Law N. 13,140 (known as the Brazilian Mediation Law) was enacted
on June 29, 2015. It provides for mediation involving individuals
and private entities, as well as the settlement of disputes
involving public entities.
The new law, which comes into effect in 180 days, regulates
extrajudicial and judicial mediation.
The provisions on judicial mediation must be interpreted
together with the new Brazilian Civil Procedure Code. The Code will
come into effect in March 2016 and provides for a mediation or a
conciliation hearing in the early stages of most lawsuits. The Code
also regulates the activities of mediators in judicial
proceedings.
Extrajudicial mediation involving individuals and private
entities has been already used in some cases, since it does not
require a specific law regulating the matter. But it is expected
that the new legal framework will boost the adoption of mediation
and provide comfort to parties that are not familiar with this
method of conflict
