Arbitration differs from judicial proceedings due to its speed, resulting from the absence of mandatory double-level proceedings and the multiple appeals. According to a survey by Migalhas/FGV (2025), the average duration of corporate arbitration proceedings is 14.8 months, while equivalent actions in the Judiciary can take several years. This speed is a result of the procedural autonomy provided for in Article 21 of Law 9,307/1996, which allows the parties to define the language, deadlines, number of arbitrators and rules for producing evidence, always respecting the adversarial system and equality. 

The same Law allows, in article 2, §§ 1º and 2º, the choice between judgment by law – strictly applying legal and contractual norms – or by equity, in which case the court can rely on principles of objective good faith, reasonableness and contractual balance.  

The adoption of equity requires express authorization in the agreement or in the Arbitration Term; in the absence of such authorization, the award may be annulled. In 2024, for example, the partners of a start-up Biotechnology companies opted for equity arbitration to redefine shares after emergency funding; the report adjusted the cap table without violating the articles of association, a solution that would be impractical in court due to regulatory rigidity. 

Once the investigation is concluded, the arbitration award is, as a rule, unappealable (art. 18), with the possibility of annulment remaining only in the specific cases set out in article 32. The Superior Court of Justice, in REsp 2.105.872/RJ (2024), confirmed that any challenges must be concentrated in a single proceeding, recognizing lis pendens between annulment action and challenge to compliance with the award.  

In practice, to enforce the decision, a simple petition to the competent court is sufficient, accompanied by the report and the Arbitration Agreement. An example is a family holding company that provided for a fast track procedure for disputes up to R$20 million: the report was issued in 120 days and the credit was fully satisfied in thirty days, without reopening the merits. 

Thus, the combination of a contractual calendar, the possibility of judgment based on equity and the enforceability of the award gives corporate arbitration an effective mechanism for resolving complex disputes with speed, flexibility and legal certainty.