A lasting tendency for the number of cases heard by the Arbitration Court at BCCI to increase was reported in 2011
On 22nd March, the annual report meeting of the Arbitral Colleges at the Arbitration Court with BCCI for 2011 was held. Around 50 arbitrators – renounced Bulgarian legal specialists – attended the event.
It was reported that the tendency from last years for the number of cases to grow was preserved in 2011. According to the information available, the other 15 officially registered arbitration institutions in Bulgaria hear a total of about 1/10 of the cases heard annually by the Arbitration Court at BCCI. The same conclusion is valid in comparison to the arbitration courts of the countries in Eastern Europe and the Balkans with similar political situation and economic processes.
In 2011, 37 international and 744 domestic arbitration cases were filed. International disputes increased by 22% and domestic disputes by 2% as compared to 2010. A significant rise in the number of cases heard under the rules on expedient procedure was also reported. The increase in 2011 in comparison to 2010 was 78%, which demonstrates a maturity of both the parties to the disputes and their legal representatives, and a desire for speedy resolution of the commercial disputes by using the opportunity provided by the Arbitration Court with BCCI - an award to be rendered in about 2 months and to proceed to enforcement of the arbitral rulings against the debtor in the same period.
Claims for EUR 18 million and BGN 82 million more were filed. Most of the cases completed in 2011 /around 51%/ were completed within the shortest terms /6 to 9 months/, and about 15% of the cases were resolved within 12 months.
For the first time, in the entire 2011 the electronic programme of the Arbitration Court was used. The programme was perfected over the year and more and more parties, legal representatives, arbitrators and court experts have benefited from the opportunity for remote access to case files. The improvement of the electronic programme in the course of its practical application remains a priority of the Arbitration Court this year as well. Thus, the Arbitration Court with BCCI ranks second, alongside the Czech Arbitration Court, among institutions using the leading experience of the Arbitration Court with the International Intellectual Property Organization.
The Arbitration Court with BCCI plays an active part for the promotion and dissemination of arbitration as a judicial process in the Western Balkans. With regard to this, in 2011 the President of the Arbitration Court with BCCI visited Kosovo to share the Court’s experience and later on the Secretary General of the Arbitration Court in Kosovo paid a one-week visit to the Arbitration Court with BCCI.
The results achieved in 2011 show that the trust of Bulgarian and foreign legal subjects in the rulings of the Arbitration Court with BCCI is increasing. The management of BCCI, the Presidium of the Arbitration Court and the arbitrators declared their unflagging desire and intention to further improve the work of the Arbitration Court with BCCI and to additionally establish its authority.