Countries › Peru › Guide › 14. Disputes › Claims against the State in Peru: administrative litigation, public procurement arbitration and dispute boards, and collecting judgments

Claims against the State in Peru: administrative litigation, public procurement arbitration and dispute boards, and collecting judgments

Last verified: 2026-10-28 · Status: Stable

Administrative acts, silence and material actions of Peruvian public bodies can only be challenged in the contentious administrative process, usually within three months and after exhausting the administrative route; filing does not suspend the act. Disputes under public procurement contracts go instead to dispute boards, conciliation and mandatory arbitration under Ley Nº 32069 (in force since 22 April 2025), with 30 business day filing deadlines that extinguish the right if missed. Money judgments against the State are paid through the debtor body's budget; only six months after notice can a creditor start forced execution, and public domain assets can never be seized.

USD figures use S/ 3.452 per US dollar, the banking system selling rate published by the Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y AFP for 27 October 2026, from the Banco Central de Reserva del Perú statistics series PD04640PD. UIT amounts use the 2026 UIT of S/ 5,500 set by Decreto Supremo Nº 301-2025-EF, as cited in SUNAT Resolución de Superintendencia Nº 000016-2026/SUNAT. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Deadline to challenge an administrative act in court	3 monthsTUO Ley Nº 27584 art. 18, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Filing suspends the administrative act	No, only with an interim measure or by law textTUO Ley Nº 27584 art. 24, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Costs awarded in contentious administrative cases	No textTUO Ley Nº 27584 art. 49, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Wait before forced execution of a money judgment against the State	6 monthsTUO Ley Nº 27584 art. 46.4, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Public procurement law in force	Ley Nº 32069, since 2025-04-22 textLey Nº 32069, Vigésima Novena DCF, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Deadline to start procurement arbitration	30 business daysLey Nº 32069 art. 84.4 and 84.5, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Maximum amount for ad hoc procurement arbitration	10 UITLey Nº 32069 art. 84.1, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Deadline to submit a dispute to the dispute board	20 business daysLey Nº 32069 art. 80.1, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Contract value up to which a sworn undertaking suffices as counter security	200 UITLey Nº 32069 art. 86.1, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Unidad Impositiva Tributaria 2026	5,500 PENDS Nº 301-2025-EF, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
SBS banking system selling rate, 27 October 2026	3.452 PEN per USDBCRP series PD04640PD, as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. Acts of the public administration can only be challenged in the contentious administrative process, save for constitutional actions. Challengeable actions are administrative acts and declarations, administrative silence, inertia and omissions, material actions without an underlying act, enforcement actions that breach the law, actions and omissions on the validity, effect, execution or interpretation of public contracts (except where conciliation or arbitration is mandatory or chosen under the law), and staffing decisions. The claimant chooses the specialised judge of the defendant's domicile or of the place where the action or silence occurred. Claims against the Central Bank, the securities regulator SMV, the banking regulator SBS and the health regulator start at the Superior Court's contentious administrative chamber.
Cost to do it: The law sets no special court fee; ordinary judicial fees and counsel apply. Neither side can be ordered to pay the other's costs (art. 49).
Example: A Lima importer fined by a municipality sues before the contentious administrative judge of the municipality's domicile or of the place where the fine was imposed. / A foreign owned insurer challenging a US$2 million SBS sanction files directly with the contentious administrative chamber of the Superior Court.Texto Único Ordenado de la Ley Nº 27584, Ley que Regula el Proceso Contencioso Administrativo, approved by Decreto Supremo Nº 011-2019-JUS (El Peruano, 4 May 2019), Art. 3, 4, 10 and 11, 2019-05-04 official text · verified 2026-10-28

2. The claim must be filed within three months of notice or knowledge of the act, whichever is first, for acts, material actions, contract related actions and staffing decisions; for positive silence the term for third parties is also three months, and no term runs against inertia or omissions other than negative silence. These terms are caducidad periods: once lost, no other court action on the same act is possible. The administrative route must be exhausted first, except where a public body sues to annul its own act, where a third party to the administrative procedure sues, where the claim seeks performance of an omitted duty (after a written demand left unanswered for 15 days), and for core pension rights denied at first instance.
Cost to do it: The cost of missing the three month window is losing the right to any judicial challenge of that act (art. 22.2).
Example: A concessionaire notified of a final ministry resolution on 2 November 2026 must sue by 2 February 2027. / A US$500,000 permit revocation that is not challenged in three months becomes unchallengeable in court, even if it is unlawful.Texto Único Ordenado de la Ley Nº 27584, Ley que Regula el Proceso Contencioso Administrativo, approved by Decreto Supremo Nº 011-2019-JUS (El Peruano, 4 May 2019), Art. 18, 19, 20 and 22, 2019-05-04 official text · verified 2026-10-28

3. Admitting the claim does not suspend the challenged act unless the judge grants an interim measure or a law says so; measures to innovate or not to innovate are especially available. The urgent process covers ending material actions without an act, enforcing a mandatory duty under law or a final act, and core pension claims; the other side has 3 days to answer and the judge rules within 5 days. In the ordinary process there is no counterclaim; defences are due in 5 days, the answer in 10 days, the judgment within 15 days of the hearing or of the last day to request one, and appeal within 5 days. The judge orders the agency to send the administrative file within 15 business days, with progressive fines for refusal.
Cost to do it: Interim measures need counter security under the Civil Procedure Code; the TUO sets no specific amount.
Example: A mining company whose operating permit is suspended seeks a measure not to innovate, because without it the suspension remains enforceable during the case. / A contractor owed a US$300,000 payment ordered by a final resolution can use the urgent process to compel the agency to comply.Texto Único Ordenado de la Ley Nº 27584, Ley que Regula el Proceso Contencioso Administrativo, approved by Decreto Supremo Nº 011-2019-JUS (El Peruano, 4 May 2019), Art. 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 and 39, 2019-05-04 official text · verified 2026-10-28

4. Final judgments for payment of money are paid by the budget unit that incurred the debt, under the responsibility of its head: first from the unit's budget, then through budget modifications within 15 days of notice, and otherwise by a written commitment to pay under the budget law. If six months pass after judicial notice without payment having started or being committed under those procedures, the creditor may start execution of judgments under art. 713 and following of the Civil Procedure Code, but public domain assets under art. 73 of the Constitution cannot be seized. The agency owes interest for late payment. Officials who must comply are personally and jointly responsible, and acts adopted to evade a judgment are void.
Cost to do it: No costs recovery in this process (art. 49), so each side bears its own counsel; budget for a long collection phase.
Example: A supplier holding a final judgment for S/ 1,000,000 (US$289,687) against a regional government waits for budget payment and, after six months without payment or a commitment, may seek execution against assets that are not public domain. / For a US$290,000 judgment, the practical recovery route is negotiating inclusion in the debtor's payment schedule, because public domain assets are immune from seizure.Texto Único Ordenado de la Ley Nº 27584, Ley que Regula el Proceso Contencioso Administrativo, approved by Decreto Supremo Nº 011-2019-JUS (El Peruano, 4 May 2019), Art. 44, 45, 46, 47, 48 and 49, 2019-05-04 official text · verified 2026-10-28

5. Controversies arising during the execution of public procurement contracts are resolved through a dispute prevention and resolution board (JPRD), conciliation, arbitration, or the mechanisms of standard international engineering and construction contracts. All disputes on validity, nullity, interpretation, execution, termination or effect of the contract go to arbitration unless the law provides otherwise, and the arbitration clause must be in the contract. Claims for unjust enrichment or damages arising from the Contraloría's failure to approve additional works are excluded and go to the courts. Starting a dispute does not suspend contractual obligations unless the entity or a court decides otherwise.
Cost to do it: Institutional arbitration fees under the registered institution's schedule; dispute board fees set in the contract and regulation.
Example: A road contractor in a dispute over an extension of time must keep working while the dispute runs, unless the entity or a court suspends the obligation. / A foreign engineering firm on a US$60 million hospital contract under an international standard form can use that form's dispute board, as art. 78 allows.Ley Nº 32069, Ley General de Contrataciones Públicas (El Peruano, 24 June 2024; in force 22 April 2025, 90 calendar days after its regulation DS Nº 009-2025-EF of 22 January 2025), Art. 76 and 83, 2024-06-24 official text · verified 2026-10-28 · changed: Ley Nº 32069 replaced Ley Nº 30225 for public procurement; it entered into force 90 calendar days after its regulation (DS Nº 009-2025-EF, 22 January 2025), that is on 22 April 2025.

6. Procurement arbitration is at law, national or international, and conducted in Spanish. It may be ad hoc only where the amount does not exceed 10 UIT; otherwise it must be administered by an institution on the OECE registry, and international arbitrations may use reputable foreign institutions without registration. A sole arbitrator decides unless the parties agreed on three or the complexity or amount justifies a panel. Arbitration on validity, nullity, termination or ineffectiveness must be started within 30 business days of notice of the disputed act; other disputes within 30 business days of final delivery, the final deliverable or handover of the works, with special starting points for conformity, works liquidation, final payment and hidden defects, and 10 business days for framework agreement catalogue purchases. These are caducidad periods. The award is final and notified through the Pladicop platform, only annulment lies, an entity needs a reasoned decision of its head to seek annulment, and awards are public.
Cost to do it: Ad hoc is only possible up to 10 UIT (S/ 55,000, about US$15,933 in 2026); above that, registered institution fees apply. For disputes above 2,000 UIT (S/ 11,000,000, about US$3,186,559) the institution must hold international quality and anti bribery management certifications (art. 77.1 d)).
Example: A supplier whose contract is terminated by a hospital on 3 November 2026 must start arbitration within 30 business days of that notice, or the termination stands. / A US$100,000 claim (S/ 345,200) is above 10 UIT, so it must go to a registered institution, not an ad hoc tribunal.Ley Nº 32069, Ley General de Contrataciones Públicas (El Peruano, 24 June 2024; in force 22 April 2025, 90 calendar days after its regulation DS Nº 009-2025-EF of 22 January 2025), Art. 84, 2024-06-24 official text · verified 2026-10-28

7. A dispute board promotes prevention and resolves technical and contractual disputes in supply and works contracts; it cannot decide validity, nullity or effect of the contract. Disputes must be submitted to it within 20 business days of a party communicating its disagreement, its decisions are binding and immediately enforceable, and if no party objects in writing within 20 business days or no arbitration follows within the art. 84 deadlines, the decision becomes enforceable as an executive title. Where the contract provides for a board, going through it is a precondition to arbitration. Conciliation may be agreed before arbitration for listed matters (termination, extensions, acceptance, valuations, liquidation, obligations) but not for nullity, is mandatory to agree in minor contracts, and is held before a MINJUS accredited centre.
Cost to do it: Board member fees under the contract; conciliation centre fees under the centre's schedule.
Example: A works contractor disputing a valuation submits it to the board within 20 business days of notifying its disagreement; if it then lets 20 business days pass without objecting to the decision, the decision becomes final and enforceable. / A US$15 million works contract with a dispute board clause cannot go straight to arbitration; the board stage comes first.Ley Nº 32069, Ley General de Contrataciones Públicas (El Peruano, 24 June 2024; in force 22 April 2025, 90 calendar days after its regulation DS Nº 009-2025-EF of 22 January 2025), Art. 79, 80, 81 and 82, 2024-06-24 official text · verified 2026-10-28

8. Interim measures over procurement contracts, in court or arbitration, follow special rules. Before the tribunal is constituted (absent emergency arbitration) only the commercial subspecialised judge, or the civil judge, of the entity's contractual domicile is competent. No measure may be granted without hearing the other side, and measures that stop or delay works in health, education, roads and sanitation, or road maintenance by service levels, are prohibited. The contractor must give counter security in favour of the entity: a sworn undertaking for contracts up to 200 UIT and for micro and small enterprises, and otherwise an unconditional, joint, irrevocable and automatically payable bank or financial bond, which for disputes on validity, termination or effect may not be less than the performance guarantee.
Cost to do it: For contracts above 200 UIT (S/ 1,100,000, about US$318,656), a bank bond at least equal to the performance guarantee, or the amount claimed if lower.
Example: A small enterprise seeking to stop a performance bond call can offer a sworn undertaking instead of a bank bond. / A contractor on a US$8 million school project cannot obtain an interim measure that stops the works, whatever the merits.Ley Nº 32069, Ley General de Contrataciones Públicas (El Peruano, 24 June 2024; in force 22 April 2025, 90 calendar days after its regulation DS Nº 009-2025-EF of 22 January 2025), Art. 85 and 86, 2024-06-24 official text · verified 2026-10-28

Dispute	Route	Deadline	Suspends the act or contract?	Norm
Administrative act, silence or material action	Contentious administrative process (after exhausting the administrative route)	3 months (caducidad)	No, unless an interim measure is granted	TUO Ley Nº 27584 art. 18 and 24
Validity, nullity, termination of a procurement contract	Arbitration (institutional above 10 UIT)	30 business days from notice of the act	No, unless the entity or a court decides	Ley Nº 32069 art. 76.5 and 84.4
Other procurement contract disputes	Dispute board if agreed, conciliation if agreed, then arbitration	30 business days from final delivery or the specific trigger	No	Ley Nº 32069 art. 80 and 84.5 to 84.8
Contract with the State outside procurement law (for example concessions)	Arbitration under DL Nº 1071 as amended by DU Nº 020-2020, or treaty tribunals	As agreed; abandonment after 4 months of inactivity	No	Constitution art. 63; DL Nº 1071 art. 50-A
Money judgment against the State	Budget payment, then execution after 6 months	6 months after judicial notice	Not applicable	TUO Ley Nº 27584 art. 46

Main routes against Peruvian public bodies

Worked example

A Peruvian subsidiary of a Canadian contractor has a S/ 3,452,000 (US$1,000,000) road maintenance contract with a regional government under Ley Nº 32069. The entity terminates the contract on 3 November 2026. The contractor must start institutional arbitration within 30 business days, by mid December 2026 once public holidays are counted. To stop the entity from calling the performance bond it seeks an interim measure from the commercial judge of the entity's contractual domicile, offering a bank bond at least equal to the performance guarantee, because the contract exceeds 200 UIT (S/ 1,100,000).
If it wins an award of S/ 1,000,000 (US$289,687) and the regional government neither pays nor commits payment within six months of judicial notice, the contractor can start forced execution, but only against assets that are not public domain.

Step by step

Identify the route: administrative act (contentious administrative process), procurement contract (Ley Nº 32069 mechanisms) or other State contract (DL Nº 1071 arbitration or treaty).
For administrative acts, exhaust the administrative appeals and diary the three month caducidad deadline from notice of the final act.
For procurement contracts, notify disagreement and use the dispute board within 20 business days if the contract has one; diary 30 business days to start arbitration after the triggering act.
If interim protection is needed, prepare the counter security (sworn undertaking up to 200 UIT or for MYPEs, bank bond otherwise) and file with the competent commercial judge or the tribunal.
After a money judgment or award, request payment from the budget unit, track budget modifications within 15 days of notice, and after six months move to forced execution if needed.

Common traps

The three month term for administrative claims and the 30 business day procurement arbitration terms are caducidad periods: they are not suspended or interrupted, and missing them kills the claim.
Filing a claim does not suspend the administrative act or the contract; without an interim measure the act is enforced.
Only the commercial or civil judge of the entity's contractual domicile can grant pre arbitral measures in procurement disputes; measures from any other judge are void.
No interim measure can stop or delay works in health, education, roads or sanitation.
Claims arising from the Contraloría's refusal to approve additional works cannot be arbitrated and go to the courts.
Each side bears its own costs in contentious administrative cases, and public domain assets cannot be seized to pay a judgment.

Sources

← Commercial arbitration in Peru: tribunal, challenges, interim measures, confidentiality, awards and costs under Decreto Legislativo Nº 1071Investment arbitration with Peru: constitutional basis, ICSID, contract law stability agreements and the State's coordination system →

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