The third judicial summit of the Union of South American Nations held earlier this month shows momentum building for the establishment of a regional court of arbitration.

The final statement of the three-day meetings held on Margarita Island, in the Venezuelan Caribbean, highlighted the need to create a centre for conciliation and arbitration in the region.
Chile, Colombia and Peru proposed the centre, explaining that the objective is to create an institution to resolve controversies that might emerge when implementing co-operation programmes, such as contracts for large public infrastructure works.
(…)

Arbitration and litigation specialist Arnoldo Wald, a partner at Wald e Associados Advogados, suggests Brazil could lead the way in "the creation of a Latin American forum for arbitration, different from the model established by the UN Convention in Washington, DC, and adapted to local needs and cultures."
While no formal agreement has been reached on a centre, the UNASUR summit did produce agreements on extradition, exhortation, alternative mechanisms to solve conflict. The respective presidents of the supreme courts of Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Guyana, Paraguay, Uruguay, Panama and Venezuela signed up to the principles of judicial co-operation. Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Suriname are yet to commit.
The three-day meeting was led by Luisa Estela Morales, Chief Justice of Venezuelas Supreme Court, with the participation of the countrys President, Hugo Chávez.

Source: Latin Lawyer