As anti-suit injunctions no direito brasileiro: da aversão à compatibilidade

Abstract

This work aims to examine anti-suit injunctions — decisions of a mandatory nature commonly issued by judges in common law countries — in light of Brazilian law. The first part of the study is a historical overview of the origin of this type of decision, its evolution in the main countries where it is used and how it is viewed today in other countries with a civil law tradition. It also discusses the main problems that anti-suit injunctions present when confronted with both the traditional notions of sovereignty and territorial jurisdiction, and the concept of comity, which, in common law countries, is used as an amalgam of these notions. The second part of the paper investigates why Brazilian law has not developed a mechanism similar to anti-suit injunctions, analyzing the legal options adopted in the country to deal with the problems arising from parallel litigation, as well as the country’s apparent aversion to such measures. At this point, we conclude that Brazil does not have the appropriate legal tools to deal with parallel litigation at the international level. At the end, a reflection is proposed on the points of convergence and divergence between anti-suit injunctions and Brazilian law, concluding that there seems to be a way to adapt this institute to the domestic level without major difficulties.