This Monday (13), the Center for Arbitration and Mediation of the Chamber of Commerce Brazil-Canada (CAM-CCBC), released the Supplementary Rule n. 06/2025 that sets the Rules for the Early Production of Evidence (EPE Rules – currently available exclusively in Portuguese). This document covers the procedural steps of the early production of evidence proceedings before CAM-CCBC.
The early production of evidence is an autonomous procedure, regulated by Article 381 of the Brazilian Code of Civil Procedure¹, which precedes the main lawsuit. In certain cases, the early production of evidence is pertinent regardless of urgency, when the previous knowledge regarding the evidence can (i) facilitate self-composition or the utilization of other adequate dispute resolution methods; and/or (ii) justify or avoid the filing of a lawsuit.
CAM-CCBC’s initiative is a consequence of the Superior Court of Justice’s (“STJ”) stance on the recognition of the arbitral tribunal’s jurisdiction for the early production of evidence in cases in which there is an arbitration agreement and no urgency is raised by the party².
The implementation of the EPE Rules also demonstrates the arbitration’s capacity of self-regulation to better address market demands. Key aspects of the proceedings are:
Considering that the EPE Rules are applicable to proceedings that lack urgency, the Sole Paragraph of Article 1 of the EPE Rules states that early production of evidence proceedings based on urgency may be conducted before CAM-CCBC but will be governed by the provisions regarding the Emergency Arbitrator proceedings.
Other Arbitral Institutions also have specific regulations for the conduction of early production of evidence proceedings – such as the Chamber of Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration CIESP/FIESP and the Arbitration and Mediation Center of the American Chamber of Commerce for Brazil – Amcham Brazil.
L.O. Baptista Advogados’ Dispute Resolution Team is available to provide further clarification and assess the suitability of this procedure for specific cases.
Co-authors: Silvia Rodrigues Pachikoski, Julia Guimarães Rossetto, José Victor Palazzi Zakia, Mariana Dias Sallowicz e Gabriel Rogenfisch Quintans.
¹ “Art. 381. The early production of evidence shall be admitted in the following cases:
I – there is a reasonable concern that verifying certain facts may become impossible or very difficult during the course of the lawsuit; II – the evidence to be produced may foster settlement or another appropriate method of dispute resolution; III – the prior knowledge of the facts may justify or prevent the filing of a lawsuit.”
² STJ, REsp n. 2.023.615/SP, Third Chamber, Reporting Judge MARCO AURÉLIO BELLIZZE, j. 14 March 2023.
