site.btaParliament Amends Conclusively Arbitration Law in Effort to Fight Real Estate Mafia

The Minister of Justice now has the authority to order the removal of an arbitral institution from the Ministry of Justice’s registry if “systemic serious violations” of the Arbitration Act are found. That was enacted via amendments to the  International Commercial Arbitration Act, which passed conclusively on Thursday. “The changes we have made constitute a large-scale reform,” commented Justice Minister Georgi Georgiev after the vote. He added that the reforms “have cut off attempts by the real estate mafia to misuse arbitration.”

The adopted provisions establish a public registry of arbitration institutions, containing information about permanent institutions conducting arbitration activities based in Bulgaria. The registry is maintained by the Ministry of Justice, as voted by the National Assembly.

According to the new rules, an arbitration institution established under a legal entity registered in the Commercial Register, the register of non-profit legal entities, or another register, must meet the following requirements: adopt rules for the structure and organization of arbitration activities, including a tariff for fees and costs charged during the activity, and maintain a list of arbitrators; maintain an office, record keeping, archive, and a website with a link to an electronic case management system; the members of its management body, if any, and the registered arbitrators must meet set qualifications. Additionally, every arbitration proceeding initiated before such institutions must be registered in the Arbitration Registry.

An arbitrator may be a legally competent adult who “has not been convicted of an intentional common crime” and has at least eight years of professional experience.

An arbitration award may be annulled by the Supreme Court of Cassation if, through proper judicial procedure, it is proven that the decision was based on falsified documents, false witness testimony, expert opinions, or criminal acts by a party, its representative, a member of the arbitral tribunal, or its employee related to the case resolution.