Felipe Henrique Braz

Practice Areas

Infrastructure; Regulatory; Public Law; Energy; Oil & Gas; Heavy Construction; Arbitration; and Dispute Board.

Career

Felipe H. Braz is the head of the Infrastructure & Regulatory and Arbitration & ADR practices of Braz, Coelho, Campos, Veras, Lessa e Bueno Advogados.

Felipe has recognized experience in infrastructure and regulatory issues, focusing on projects that involve private investments in regulated sectors, such as Energy, Oil and Gas, Airports, Ports and Highways. He has advised as a consultant some of the main infrastructure projects in Brazil, with an emphasis on the energy sector.

His practice is also focused on arbitrations related to construction and infrastructure matters. Felipe represented clients in arbitrations before ICC, LCIA, ICSID, CAM-CCBC, CAM-FGV, CIESP/FIESP and SMA.

He is a a Professor at Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná (PUCPR) and Visiting Professor of International Arbitration at the Brazilian Academy of Constitutional Law (ABDConst).

He was rapporteur of the Public Procurement Task Force of the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) in Brazil and co-editor of the “ICC/ECCO Guide to International Offset Contracts”, an international guide with guidelines for international offset transactions published by ICC Global (Paris) and the ECCO (European Club for Countertrade and Offset). In 2021, the aforementioned Guide was referred by the Brazilian Federal Administrative Court (TCU) as one of the main works on this matter and the Felipe was invited by TCU as an "international expert" to advise the Court on offset contracts.

Felipe is also rapporteur of the task-force for Modernization of the Brazilian Energy Sector at ICC Brazil, being responsible for coordinating ICC's studies and guidance on the Electric Sector presented to the Ministry of Regional Development and the Ministry of Mines and Energy.

Professional Memberships

-Professor of the LL.M. in Infrastructure and Regulatory Law at FGV Direito Rio;

-Professor at Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná (PUCPR);

-Visiting Professor of International Arbitration at the Brazilian Academy of Constitutional Law (ABDConst);

-Rapporteur of the Public Procurement Task Force of the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) in Brazil;

-Co-editor of the “ICC/ECCO Guide to International Offset Contracts”, an international guide with guidelines for international offset transactions published by ICC Global (Paris) and the ECCO (European Club for Countertrade and Offset);

-Rapporteur of the task-force for Modernization of the Brazilian Energy Sector at ICC Brazil.

Publications

Equilíbrio econômico‑financeiro das concessões de distribuição de energia: o desafio da geração distribuída. Revista Brasileira de Direito Público – RBDP, Belo Horizonte, ano 22, n. 84, p. 127‑161, jan./mar. 2024.

O impacto da geração distribuída nas concessões de distribuição de energia. Canal Energia. Coluna de Artigos. 22 de janeiro de 2024.

O Marco Regulatório da Geração Distribuída (GD): um trade off entre a sustentabilidade e a higidez dos contratos de Distribuição. Coluna Direito da Infraestrutura, Editora Fórum, 17 abr. 2023;

Rescisão dos contratos de concessão para geração de energia hidrelétrica em virtude da não emissão de licenças ambientais. Revista de Contratos Públicos – RCP, Belo Horizonte, ano 11, n. 21, p. 113-130, mar./ago. 2022;

A escolha da instituição arbitral pela Administração Pública. In: Arbitragem e Direito Processual. São Paulo: Editora Revista dos Tribunais, 2021;

Arbitragem no Novo Marco do Saneamento Básico. In: Novo marco legal do saneamento. Belo Horizonte: Fórum, 2021;

O modelo FIDIC Silver Book de Contrato EPC/Turn Key. In: Direito da Infraestrutura: estudos e temas relevantes. Belo Horizonte: Fórum, 2019;

Comentários ao Artigo 27 da LINDB. In: Lei de Introdução às Normas do Direito Brasileiro Anotada, v. 2. 1st ed. São Paulo: Quartier Latin, 2019;

O Serviço de Transporte Coletivo e a Ilegalidade do Controle do Sistema de Bilhetagem Eletrônica pelo Concessionário. In: Regulação e Novas Tecnologias. Belo Horizonte: Fórum, 2017;

O dogma da regra per se na análise do ilícito antitruste. In: Reflexões acerca do Direito Empresarial e a Análise Econômica do Direito. 1ª ed. Curitiba: GEDAI-UFPR, 2014. pp. 259-293;

Legislative innovations in the Brazilian infrastructure sector (Law no. 13,448 of 2017). International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Newsletter. Issue no. 2. February 2018;

A revisão da Convenção de Arbitragem da CCEE. Revista Migalhas. Ribeirão Preto: 11 out. 2017.

Clients

-General Electric;

-Cemig;

-Copel;

-Rumo;

-CPFL Energia;

-Comgas;

-Plaenge;

-Aliança Energia;

-Raízen;

-Rio Ônibus (Concessão de Transporte Coletivo do Rio de Janeiro)

-MetrôRio (Concessão Metroviária do Rio de Janeiro);

-OHL (Obrascon Huarte Lain S/A);

-Dataprom;

-Fram Capital;

-Bamin (Eurasian Resources Group);

-JMalucelli Energia;

Work Highlights

-Represents Aliança Energia (a joint venture between Vale S.A. and Cemig Geração & Transmissão S.A.) and Consórcio Candonga (consortium formed between Vale and Aliança) before the Brazilian State Courts in lawsuits against Samarco, related to the "Mariana Disaster" (Samarco dam collapse), which caused the transport and silting of 9 million cubic meters of ore waste to the reservoir of the UHE Risoleta Neves, a hydroelectric plant located on the Doce River (Minas Gerais). BCVL also represents Aliança Energia before the National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL) in regulatory matters related to the impacts of the Mariana disaster on the concession contract for the exploration of the Risoleta Neves hydroelectric plant.

-Represents Cemig (energy distribution concessionaire in Minas Gerais) in several legal proceedings related to requests for solar plants to be connected to the energy distribution system. Due to the accelerated growth of solar energy, several solar plants began to be built in the State of Minas Gerais, which has the highest insolation rate in Brazil, causing the capacity for new connections to be exhausted in the energy substations of the distribution concessionaire in Minas Gerais.

-Represents CPFL Energia in a dispute resolution involving an EPC Turn Key contract for the construction of a hydroelectric plant;

-Advised Aliança Geração de Energia S.A. (joint venture between Vale S.A. and CEMIG) on the economic and financial rebalancing of the concession contract for UHE Porto Estrela, a hydroelectric plant with 112MW of installed capacity;

-Represented UHE Santa Branca, a hydroelectric power plant with 62MW of installed capacity, before ANEEL in a procedure for termination of the concession contract due to force majeure and compensation for investments in non-amortized reversible assets;

-Advised CEMIG on the economic-financial rebalancing of the energy distribution concession contract, with regard to ANEEL's determination of the transfer of tax credits to the energy tariff;

-Represented Linha Amarela S.A. (LAMSA) in the administrative process of expropriation of the highway concession by the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro;

-Advised Metrô do Rio de Janeiro on issues related to arbitration involving the economic-financial rebalancing of the subway transport concession contract.

-Advised the Brazilian Federal Administrative Court (TCU) on the validation of the audit matrix of the FX-2 Program offset contract between the Brazilian Air Force and the Swedish company SAAB, for the acquisition of 36 units of the Gripen NG supersonic fighters;

-Represents CEMIG in a dispute against the Federal Assets Superintendence (SPU), involving the Volta do Rio Windfarm, located in Ceará, with an installed capacity of 42 MW, and a discussion on the regularity of wind turbines installed in a strip of sand.

Industry Sector Expertise

ENERGY: Felipe has solid experience in advising companies, national and foreign, that operate in the energy sector, having coordinated the development of energy generation, transmission and distribution projects, representing clients before ANEEL, ONS, EPE, MME and CCEE, and in resolution of disputes involving industry-specific issues. Felipe served for three years as CEO of a hydroelectric plant, adding legal knowledge to practical experience in managing energy projects. Felipe advises clients in all phases of auction processes for the granting of concessions for the exploration of energy potential and provision of public energy transmission and distribution services, including the analysis and challenge of public notices, requests for clarification, legal qualification, structuring of proposals and elaboration of administrative resources. It also acts in the preparation, review and negotiation of specific contracts in the energy sector, such as CCEAR, CCEAL, CUST, CUSD, CCT, CCD, Distributed Generation Contracts (GD), Adjustment Contracts, PROINFA Contracts, supply of equipment and contracts of construction in international standards (FIDIC, NEC3 and NEC4). He also advises clients on issues of economic and financial rebalancing, tariff review procedures, imposition of sanctions, extensions and contractual amendments, in addition to providing legal advice on legislation and the regulatory regime of the energy sector.

ARBITRATION: Felipe acts in international and domestic arbitration procedures before the main arbitration centers in the world (ICC, LCIA, ICDR, SIAC, ICSID, CAM-CCBC, CIESP/FIESP, among others). The performance includes both the negotiation and contractual scope of arbitration agreements, as well as the defense of the interests of clients in arbitration proceedings. He has represented clients in disputes in the areas of infrastructure, heavy construction, energy, oil & gas, equipment supply (heavy industry), among other topics. Felipe is a member of the ICC Arbitration Committee and has several legal articles and papers on arbitration.

Expert in these Jurisdictions

Brazil

Languages Spoken

English (fluent); Spanish (basic); German (basic); Portuguese (native).

Awards