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Pre suit conciliation in Uruguay

Last verified: 2026-10-27 · Status: Stable

Before most ordinary civil and commercial lawsuits, the claimant must ask a Juzgado de Paz or Juzgado de Conciliación to call the future defendant to a conciliation hearing presided over by the judge. A settlement reached there has the force of a final judgment and is enforced directly; a defendant who does not appear faces a presumption against it in the later case. Labour disputes are conciliated at the Ministry of Labour, consumer disputes can go to an administrative hearing at the consumer protection office, and administrative law cases skip conciliation altogether.

USD figures use UYU 40.214 per US dollar, the BCU quotation for DLS. USA BILLETE on 26 October 2026, retrieved from the BCU quotations service on 27 October 2026. Amounts set in UR use UYU 1,940.77, the latest published UR value (September 2026, Decreto 229/026, IMPO values table); amounts in UI use UYU 6.6792 per UI (BCU, 27 October 2026). Conversions are rounded and for orientation only.

Key facts

Mandatory conciliation hearing before most civil and commercial suits	Yes CGP art. 293, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Minimum notice for the conciliation hearing	3 daysCGP art. 295.1, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Effect of a conciliation settlement	Same as a final judgment CGP art. 297.1, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Days to file suit after conciliation to keep prescription interrupted	30 daysCC art. 1236, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Maximum fine for a supplier missing a consumer office hearing	50 URLey 17.250 art. 42 F, as of 2026-10-27 · in force

The rule

1. Before starting any proceeding the claimant must request a hearing to attempt conciliation with the future defendant, who is summoned at its domicile. The competent court is the Juzgado de Paz or Juzgado de Conciliación of the defendant's domicile. Conciliation is skipped if the defendant's domicile is unknown or the defendant is domiciled outside the department of the court competent for the case.
Cost to do it: No fee is set in the CGP for the hearing; the cost is a short written request and counsel's attendance.
Example: A Montevideo supplier owed UYU 600,000 by a Montevideo customer first files a brief request at the Montevideo conciliation court. / A US creditor owed about US$14,920 (UYU 600,000) by a company domiciled in Salto, suing in a Montevideo court, can skip conciliation because the debtor is domiciled outside the court's department.Código General del Proceso (Ley Nº 15.982), wording by Ley Nº 19.090, art. 293, 2013-06-14 official text · verified 2026-10-27

2. No conciliation is required for proceedings outside the ordinary contentious track (for example executive and monitory proceedings), preparatory measures and new claims or third party interventions in a pending case, family, lease and labour matters (labour conciliation is attempted administratively), annulment of acts of non state public persons, consumer cases under Ley 18.507, repetition actions under art. 25 of the Constitution, and cases where a law excludes it.
Cost to do it: None; skipping an unnecessary step saves weeks.
Example: A bank collecting a signed promissory note goes straight to executive proceedings without conciliation. / A foreign holder of a US$50,000 promissory note issued by a Uruguayan company files an executive claim directly, since executive proceedings are not ordinary proceedings.Código General del Proceso, wording by Ley Nº 19.090 and later laws, art. 294, 2013-06-14 official text · verified 2026-10-27

3. The hearing is called for a set day and time with at least three days' notice, on a written request that briefly states the basis and object of the future claim. The judge must preside, on pain of incurable nullity. The record states each side's position, the proposals made, the result and the parties' domiciles, which remain valid for the later case if it starts within six months. If the summoned party does not appear, that counts as a simple presumption against it in the later case. A settlement or agreement made at the hearing has the same effect as a final judgment and is enforced before the competent court; agreements involving minors or incapacitated persons need court approval.
Cost to do it: If settlement is reached, enforcement can follow without a full trial, saving the cost of the ordinary process.
Example: A customer who agrees at the hearing to pay UYU 400,000 in four instalments and then misses one can be executed directly on the conciliation record (CGP art. 377 numeral 6). / A foreign supplier that settles a US$9,947 (UYU 400,000) claim at the hearing obtains an enforceable title equivalent to a final judgment.Código General del Proceso, wording by Ley Nº 19.090, art. 295 and 297, 2013-06-14 official text · verified 2026-10-27

4. Filing without conciliation does not void the case: the court orders the step to be completed and suspends the proceedings until proof is filed, and a judgment given without it is not null.
Cost to do it: Delay rather than nullity; the suspension can cost weeks.
Example: A claimant who forgot to conciliate sees its case stayed until it files the conciliation record. / On a US$100,000 claim the stay rarely changes the outcome, but it can push back interim relief planning.Código General del Proceso, art. 298, 1988-10-18 official text · verified 2026-10-27

5. The summons to a conciliation hearing interrupts prescription from the day it is made, provided that within 30 days from the hearing, if the parties did not settle or the defendant failed to appear, the claimant files the claim and has the defendant served.
Cost to do it: Missing the 30 day window can mean the claim is time barred if the limitation period expired meanwhile.
Example: A creditor whose 10 year claim expires next week requests conciliation now; after a failed hearing it has 30 days to file and serve. / A US$250,000 claim close to prescription should be filed within 30 days of the conciliation hearing to keep the interruption.Código Civil, art. 1236, 1994-10-19 official text · verified 2026-10-27

6. In labour matters, the worker's mere request for a conciliation hearing at the Ministerio de Trabajo y Seguridad Social interrupts the one year and five year labour prescription periods. In consumer matters, the consumer protection office (Área Defensa del Consumidor) can summon suppliers at the consumer's request to an administrative hearing to seek agreement; non appearance is a simple presumption against the supplier and an unjustified absence can be fined up to 50 UR. An agreement reached in administrative conciliation that the law treats as equivalent to judicial conciliation, as in labour and consumer matters, is enforceable by the summary enforcement route (vía de apremio).
Cost to do it: Supplier fine for unjustified absence at a consumer hearing: up to 50 UR, about UYU 97,038 or US$2,413.
Example: A dismissed employee files for MTSS conciliation, which stops the clock on a claim for unpaid overtime while talks continue. / A foreign owned retailer summoned by the consumer office should attend: missing the hearing can cost up to about US$2,413 and counts against it in any later case.Ley Nº 18.091 art. 3; Ley Nº 17.250 art. 42 literal F; Código General del Proceso art. 377 numeral 6, Ley 18.091 art. 3; Ley 17.250 art. 42 F; CGP art. 377.6, 2007-01-07 official text · verified 2026-10-27

7. There is no prior conciliation for cases before the administrative courts (Tribunal de lo Contencioso Administrativo and the lower courts of that jurisdiction). In domestic arbitration the tribunal itself must attempt conciliation at a hearing, and failure to attempt it is a ground to annul the award.
Cost to do it: None for administrative cases; in arbitration, a conciliation hearing is part of the procedure.
Example: A company challenging a ministry sanction files its annulment claim without any conciliation step. / In a US$2,000,000 domestic arbitration, the parties should ensure the tribunal records its conciliation attempt to avoid an annulment ground.Código de lo Contencioso Administrativo (Ley Nº 20.333) art. 208; Código General del Proceso art. 490 and 499 (Ley Nº 20.257), CCA art. 208; CGP art. 490, 2024-09-11 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Dispute	Conciliation route	Source
Ordinary civil or commercial claim	Juzgado de Paz or Conciliación, judge presides	CGP art. 293 and 295
Executive claim, preparatory measures	None	CGP art. 294.1 and 294.2
Labour	Administrative, at the Ministry of Labour	CGP art. 294.3; Ley 18.091 art. 3
Consumer, small claims under Ley 18.507	Attempted by the judge at the single hearing	CGP art. 294.6; Ley 18.507 art. 2.2
Consumer, administrative	Optional hearing at Área Defensa del Consumidor	Ley 17.250 art. 42 F
Administrative law annulment	None	CCA art. 208
Domestic arbitration	Tribunal must attempt conciliation	CGP art. 490

Which conciliation applies

Worked example

A Uruguayan logistics firm is owed UYU 600,000 (about US$14,920) by a Montevideo importer. It files a short request at the Montevideo conciliation court; the hearing is set with at least three days' notice. The importer agrees to pay in three instalments; the record has the force of a final judgment (CGP art. 297). When the second instalment is missed, the firm requests enforcement on the conciliation record through the vía de apremio (art. 377 numeral 6), without a new trial.

Step by step

Check whether the case is exempt (CGP art. 294); if not, file the conciliation request at the court of the defendant's domicile.
State the basis and object of the future claim briefly but clearly; it frames the later case.
Attend with authority to settle; record the domiciles for the later case (valid six months).
If no settlement, file and serve the claim within 30 days to keep prescription interrupted (CC art. 1236).
If a settlement is breached, enforce it directly on the record.

Common traps

Not appearing when summoned is a presumption against you later (CGP art. 295.3).
The 30 day window after the hearing matters for prescription (CC art. 1236).
Conciliation is required only where the defendant is domiciled in the department of the competent court; check before filing (CGP art. 293.2).
Labour claims are conciliated at the Ministry, not at the Juzgado de Conciliación (CGP art. 294.3).

Sources

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