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Augusto Barros de Figueiredo is an international lawyer, arbitrator and Dispute Board member, dedicated to the prevention and resolution of disputes in international construction and infrastructure contracts and projects.

Augusto Barros de Figueiredo

He chairs Dispute Boards in contracts financed by the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank, under the FIDIC and NEC standard forms, in proceedings conducted in Portuguese, Spanish and English. He also sits as arbitrator, presiding arbitrator and mediator in construction, energy and commercial disputes. In all these roles the method is the same: understand the works before judging the contract, narrow the dispute while it is still small, and decide with the economy of time and cost the project demands.

He pays particular attention to local cultural factors in dispute avoidance. In international contracts, disagreement is rarely only technical: it grows out of the distance between how each party understands time, hierarchy, formality and the very idea of a settlement. Recognising that distance early, and working with it inside the procedure, keeps a difference in reading from turning into a formal dispute.

His practice rests on an international academic path. He read law at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, graduating cum laude, took a master’s degree in Private International Law and International Trade Law at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and an LL.M. in Global Business Law at the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris, both taught entirely in French and supervised by Prof. Horatia Muir-Watt. He holds a doctorate in law from Universidade Federal Fluminense, with a thesis supervised by Prof. Edson Alvisi and awarded by the Brazilian Institute of Construction Law as the best of 2024, published in Portuguese and in Spanish. He is conducting post-doctoral research at the University of São Paulo Law School, supervised by Prof. Fontoura Costa, on Dispute Boards in public-private partnership contracts.

Before devoting himself fully to dispute resolution, he was Head Legal for Infrastructure and Head of Conflict Prevention and Resolution at the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organising Committee, where he designed and implemented the first systematic Dispute Board programme at a sporting mega-event. Before that, he practised as in-house counsel at IBM Brazil and at Banco Itaú-Unibanco.

He chairs Region 4 (Latin America) of the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation, is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and holds institutional positions in Brazil, Peru and Paraguay. He directs and teaches in FGV’s graduate programme in Dispute Management in Construction Projects and has trained more than seven hundred professionals in Dispute Board workshops across Latin America.

Academic background

  • USP · since 2026Post-doctoral research at the Law School, Department of International and Comparative Law, supervised by Prof. Fontoura Costa. Subject: Dispute Boards in public-private partnership contracts. Member of the research group Centro de Direito do Comércio Internacional (International Trade Law Centre).
  • UFF · 2021 to 2024Doctorate in law. Thesis "Dispute Boards and Economic Development: contributions to the normative harmonisation of the method", supervised by Prof. Edson Alvisi. Awarded by IBDiC as the best thesis of 2024.
  • Sciences Po · 2007 to 2008LL.M. in Global Business Law, Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris, supervised by Prof. Horatia Muir-Watt. Taught entirely in French.
  • Paris 1 · 2006 to 2007Master’s degree in Private International Law and International Trade Law, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. Dissertation "La coopération judiciaire comme outil d’intégration de la globalisation juridique", written and defended in French.
  • UFRJ · 2004 to 2006Master in Business Economics (MBE), title of International Analyst, Centre for Legal and Economic Sciences.
  • UFRJ · 1993 to 1998Law degree, graduated cum laude.

Certifications and specialised training

  • FIDIC · 2025Claims and Disputes Course.
  • FIDIC · 2025Contract Management and Administration Course.
  • NECNEC Foundation Award, NEC Online Academy.
  • NECNEC4: Managing Time and the Programme.
  • NECNEC3 and NEC4 ECC Contracts Compared.
  • CIArb · 2023Accelerated Route to Fellowship (ARF) in international arbitration.
  • ICC · 2016 to 2018Advanced Arbitration Academy for Latin America, ICC Institute of World Business Law: eight modules, 52 CPD hours and 62.5 CLE credits.
  • ICC · 2020Drafting Enforceable Awards, ICC Institute Training.
  • DRBF · 2026Advanced workshop Handling the Hard Cases: Advanced Skills for Dispute Board Members, Rome.
  • DRBF · 2016Dispute Board Advanced User Workshop.
  • ICFMLMediator certified by the Institute for the Certification and Training of Portuguese-speaking Mediators.
  • UNCITRALMediation Framework Course.

Institutional roles

  • Dispute Resolution Board Foundation (DRBF)President of Region 4 (Latin America); founding member of the Region 4 Board of Directors, 2024; former member of the Region 2 and Region 4 Boards
  • Brazilian Bar Association, Rio de Janeiro Chapter (OAB/RJ)Chair of the Dispute Resolution Boards Committee
  • Centro Brasileiro de Mediação e Arbitragem (CBMA)Vice-President for Dispute Boards
  • ICC BrazilMember and former chair of the Arbitration and Infrastructure working group of the Mediation and Arbitration Commission
  • Instituto Brasileiro de Direito Administrativo (IBDA)Member of the Commission on Alternative Dispute Resolution
  • Clube Espanhol e Ibero-Americano de Arbitragem (CEIA)Member of the Steering Committee of the Brazilian Chapter
  • Centro de Arbitraje de la Cámara de Comercio Brasil-Perú (CAMBRAPER)Executive Director
  • Ankawa Internacional Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Centre (Peru)Vice-President of the Arbitration Council
  • Centro Latinoamericano de Arbitraje y Mediación (LATCAM, Paraguay)Advisory Council, 2024 to 2026

Awards and distinctions

  • 2026Prize of the Brazilian Institute of Construction Law (IBDiC) for the article "Time Bar in FIDIC Contracts: agony and ecstasy in Latin American lands".
  • 2024Prize for best doctoral thesis of the Brazilian Institute of Construction Law (IBDiC).

Professional experience

  • Barros de FigueiredoFounding partner. Practice dedicated to construction law, infrastructure, international contracts and dispute resolution.
  • Rio 2016Head Legal for Infrastructure and Head of Conflict Prevention and Resolution at the Olympic and Paralympic Games Organising Committee. Responsible for the legal framework of infrastructure procurement and for the event’s Dispute Board programme.
  • IBM BrazilIn-house counsel.
  • Itaú-UnibancoIn-house counsel.

Languages and nationality

  • PortugueseNative language.
  • SpanishFluent. Member and chair of Dispute Boards in proceedings conducted in Spanish in Peru, Chile and Honduras; teaching and publishing in Spanish across Latin America.
  • EnglishFluent. Chair of Dispute Boards in proceedings conducted in English in Guyana, under IDB-financed FIDIC contracts; panellist at international conferences and author in English-language publications.
  • FrenchFluent. Postgraduate legal education taken entirely in French, in Paris.
  • NationalityBrazilian and Portuguese.