Subrogated insurer is subject to the arbitration clause inserted in international maritime contract (Mapfre Seguros Generales de Colombia S/A v Log Wisdom S/A Recurso Especial)

Article summary

Arbitration analysis: The Superior Court of Justice (STJ) in Brazil analysed, in the context of a Special Appeal, if an arbitration clause established in a maritime transport contract should be transmitted to the subrogated insurer in case of a redress lawsuit. The Reporting Justice Maria Isabel Gallotti proclaimed that although the subrogated creditor is not automatically bound by the arbitration clause through legal subrogation, it may occur through contractual subrogation, or, in this case, through the insurer’s previous knowledge of the existence of an arbitration clause in the contract of carriage. This is because the arbitration clause cannot be understood as a very personal condition of the party, precisely because it is a generic and common legal institute applicable to any capable contractor, not deriving from a personal characteristic whose provision could not be performed by a third party. The decision shows that the courts in Brazil,...