Venezuela Supreme Court rules dollar-denominated debts must be paid in foreign currency

The Civil Chamber of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) has issued a clarifying ruling stating that debts expressly agreed upon in foreign currency must be settled in that same currency, unless the contract contains an explicit exception.

This decision, contained in ruling number 501, follows a legal dispute involving attorney Juan Andrés Marcano Cabrera, who sought the payment of 60,000 dollars in professional fees owed by Germán Alejandro Mendoza Armán and the company Constructora Premezclados y Agregados Virgen del Valle C.A.

While the debtor had previously attempted to settle the remaining 55,000 dollars by transferring the equivalent amount in bolívares, the TSJ annulled a lower court decision that had validated the bolívar payment. The high court ordered the debtor to fulfill the obligation in the currency specified in the original contract.