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On September 2, the Rio de Janeiro City Council published Complementary Law No. 285/2025, which governs the use of Dispute Boards in administrative contracts executed by the municipality’s direct and indirect contract-letting agency.

At the municipal level, this regulates the mechanism provided for in Article 155 of Law No. 14,133/2021 – the New General Law on Public Procurement and Administrative Contracts – which expressly authorizes the use of such boards as alternative (and, in fact, more appropriate) means of dispute resolution.

The rule applies to all municipal contracts that provide for dispute boards, with the purpose of preventing and settling conflicts related to disposable property rights, especially in long-term projects.

The creation of dispute boards aims to prevent disagreements between the parties from jeopardizing the continuous performance of the contract, ensuring efficiency in the contracts and compliance with established deadlines.

To ensure neutrality, the Dispute Boards will be composed of three individuals trusted by the parties, who will be subject, where applicable, to the same rules on conflict of interest and disqualification applicable to judges, as well as the same duties and responsibilities, as set forth in the Code of Civil Procedure. The selection of dispute board members shall follow equitable, technical, and transparent criteria.

In addition, the Board will preferably be established at the beginning of the contractual relationship, before any disputes arise. However, the law also allows for the creation of ad hoc committees to settle specific conflicts that may arise during contract performance.

The Board may be advisory, adjudicative, or hybrid in nature. In the first case, it may give recommendations that are not binding upon the parties at the time they are issued. If a party is dissatisfied with a recommendation, it may notify the other party and the Committee within twenty business days.

The adjudication Board, in turn, has the authority to issue decisions that are contractually binding upon the parties as they are uttered. Also in this case, the dissatisfied party may submit a notice of dissatisfaction, which is a prerequisite for any subsequent challenge both judicially and in arbitration.

Finally, the hybrid Committee may issue both recommendations and decisions regarding disputes, subject to the same rules described above.

The expectation is that Complementary Law No. 285/2025 contributes to improving the management of municipal contracts by encouraging consensual solutions, reducing risks, and increasing efficiency in promoting the public interest.