A aplicação da lei nº 14.879/2024 aos contratos marítimos: limites à autonomia privada na eleição de foro e seus reflexos no direito marítimo brasileiro

Abstract

This Final Paper examines the impacts of Brazilian Law No. 14.879/2024 on party autonomy in forum selection, with a specific focus on maritime contracts and the consequences of this legislative change for Brazilian Maritime Law. Historically, forum selection clauses have been a consolidated institution in the Brazilian legal system since the colonial period, evolving through the Portuguese Ordenações, Regulation No. 737/1850, and the Codes of Civil Procedure of 1973 and 2015. The new law, by amending article 63 of the Code of Civil Procedure, now requires that the elected forum maintain an objective connection either with the parties’ domicile or with the place of performance of the contractual obligation, while also allowing judges to declare abusive clauses null and void ex officio. Although the measure aims to curb abusive practices such as forum shopping, its strict application raises concerns in the context of international and maritime contracts, which are marked by the need for neutrality, predictability, and specialized jurisdiction. Such contracts commonly involve parties with equivalent economic strength and a high degree of technical complexity, in which the freedom to choose the forum is essential to legal certainty and transactional efficiency. The study demonstrates that, despite its merits in strengthening procedural protection, Law No. 14.879/2024 may represent a setback by restricting contractual freedom and distancing Brazil from consolidated international practices in maritime trade. It concludes that the provision should be applied in a contextualized and proportionate manner, distinguishing situations of vulnerability from balanced commercial relations, so as to preserve the equilibrium between party autonomy, public policy, and legal certainty.