STATUTE OF THE ARBITRATION COURT
AT THE
NATIONAL BUSINESS AND LAW ASSOCIATION
(Adopted
on 25.07.2002 at a session of the Administrative Council of the NBLA and
confirmed by the President of the NBLA, in effect from the date of its
approval, amended by a Resolution of the Executive Council of the NBLA on
14.03.2003, confirmed by the President of the NBLA, which amendments come into
effect on 15.03.2003.)
STATUS
Art. 1. (1) A Court of Arbitration is established at the National Business and Law
Association.
(2) The seat of the Court of
Arbitration is in the city of
(3) The Court of Arbitration is
a justice-administering institution, independent from the National Business and
Law Association.
JURISDICTION
Art. 2. (1) The Court of Arbitration shall resolve on civil
property disputes as well as on disputes to fill gaps in contracts or its
adaptation to newly arisen circumstances between parties (physical or juridical
persons) with place of residence or seat in the Republic of
Bulgaria as well as abroad, provided the disputes are submitted to the Court of
Arbitration by virtue of an arbitration agreement or an international treaty.
(2) The disputes shall be
examined in accordance with the Rules of the Court of Arbitration at the
National Business and Law Association.
(3) The Court of Arbitration
shall arrange conciliation procedures and render assistance for settling
civil legal disputes in accordance with Rules of the Court of Arbitration
at the National Business and Law Association.
STRUCTURE
Art. 3. (1) The Court of
Arbitration shall be composed of a presidency, arbitrators, mediators
and
a secretariat.
(2) The Court of Arbitration
shall resolve on disputes submitted to it by means of an arbitral tribunal
consisting of three arbitrators or of a sole arbitrator. The awards of all the
arbitrators should be taken their rights and duties being equal.
(3)
The conciliation procedures and mediation for resolving on civil legal disputes
shall be done by mediator.
PRESIDENCY
Art. 4. (1) The Presidency of
the Court of Arbitration shall consist of: a Chairman of the Court, three
Deputy Chairmen and three Members. They shall be elected by the Administrative
Council of the National Business and Law Association by a suggestion
of the Administrative Council of National Business and Law Association for a five-year term of office. The President shall have the power to
make replacements in the Presidency within the course of this term.
(2) The
Presidency shall have the following functions:
1. to elect
arbitrators and mediators to the Court of Arbitration;
2. to provide for the execution
of the awards of the
3. to take decisions on the
activity of the Court.
(3) A
Record shall be drawn up for the sessions of the Presidency and the decisions,
which shall be signed up by the Chairman of the Court and the Secretary.
CHAIRMAN
Art. 5. (1) The Chairman of the Court of Arbitration shall
represent the Court inside the country and abroad.
(2) The Chairman shall summon the sessions of the
Presidency of the Court and of the Plenum, report on the
activities of the Court to the Plenum and to the President and the
Administrative Council of the National Business and Law Association and execute
the decisions taken by the Presidency and the functions provided for in the
Rules of the Court of Arbitration.
(3) The Deputy Chairmen shall perform the
functions of the Chairman in the case when he is unable to do so or when he has
delegated his functions to them.
(4) The Court of
Arbitration could have an Honorary Chairman, elected by the President
of the National
Business and Law Association under the proposal of the Administrative
Council of the National Business and Law Association.
ARBITRATORS AND MEDIATORS
Art. 6. (1) The arbitrators
and mediators shall be enrolled and struck off the list of arbitrators by a
decision of the Presidency of the Court. The enrolment shall be in force for a
five-year term. During the five-year term the Presidency shall have the right
to enrol new arbitrators and mediators.
(2) Separate lists shall be kept for disputes
between parties with residence or seat in the
(3) The following able adult
physical persons could be enrolled as arbitrators and mediators:
1.
who have not been convicted for a deliberate crime of general character and
against whom there has not been constituted a
preliminary procedure for such a crime;
2.
who have a knowledge of the Internal and international economic relations and
the laws, which settle them;
3.
who have not declared bankrupt or managed a company, gone into bankrupt, if
there are dissatisfied creditors;
4.
who have completed secondary education.
(4)
The candidates for arbitrators and mediators shall fill in a declaration
regarding the data upon the previous paragraph, as well as the fact that they
are aware of the present statute, rules and tariffs, referring the activity of
the Court of Arbitration.
(5)
The list should indicate the name, year of birth, position or profession,
scientific degree or rank, specialty and residency of the arbitrator and
mediator.
(6) The arbitrators
shall be independent and impartial in performing their functions. They shall
not act as representatives of any of the parties. The arbitrators and mediators
shall be obliged to keep secret about the data accessible to them with regard
to the performing their duties.
(7) When a person
is nominated for arbitrator, mediator or chairman of the decisive
body,
he should indicate in a written declaration to the Secretariat all the
circumstances, which could cause reasonable doubts for his impartiality or
independency. The arbitrator and mediator shall have this obligation also after
their assignment. This declaration shall be sent to the parties.
(8) The lists may be
presented to anyone interested. The lists of arbitrators for international
disputes shall also be sent to the Bulgarian diplomatic, consular and
commercial agencies abroad.
Art. 7. (1) The arbitrators shall not give either verbal or written opinions or
consultations, as well as be attorneys in disputes in the jurisdiction on the
Court of arbitration at the National Business and Law Association. Arbitrators
who are members of law firms shall not accept to be elected or appointed as
arbitrators of cases which have been entrusted by one of the disputing parties
to the firm in which the arbitrators takes part.
(2) The arbitrators and mediators enrolled in the
list of the Court of Arbitration could no be replaced for the
period of their mandate excluding in the following cases:
1.
when the arbitrator or mediator submit an advance three-month notice to the Chairman of the Court concerning his
desire to be obliterated from the list;
2.
when the arbitrator or mediator is unable to perform his duties for more than
three months;
3.
when through his acts he lowers the reputation of the National Business and Law
Association;
4.
when a preliminary legal procedure for deliberate crime of general character
has been made against the arbitrator or mediator;
5.
when it is found out that the declaration as per Art. 6, Par. 4 comprises
untrue data.
(3)
The obliteration of the arbitrator or mediator from the list shall be done by
the President of the National Business and Law Association
upon suggestion of the Chairman of the Court of Arbitration.
(4)
In the cases upon Par. 2, item 1, the arbitrator shall continue the procedure
of the cases before the college and relatively the mediator shall continue the
conciliation procedure.
(5)
In the cases upon Par. 2, items 2-5, the Chairman of the college shall notify
the party, which has appointed the arbitrator, that it shall appoint a new
arbitrator in a seven-day term. In the cases upon Par. 2, items 2-5, the
parties under the he conciliation procedure shall appoint a new mediator in a
seven-day term, otherwise the new mediator shall be appointed by the Chairman
of the Court.
(6)
When the party does not appoint an arbitrator upon the previous paragraph, or
he has been appointed by the other two, they shall appoint the new member of
the college.
Art. 8. (1) The Chairman of
the Court of Arbitration, the deputy chairmen of the Court of Arbitration, the
arbitrators and mediators constitute the Arbitration College which is
convoked by the Chairman of the Court of Arbitration and has the
following rights and obligations:
1. it shall determine the spheres of activity of the Court of Arbitration and
take decisions on principal matters regarding the organizational activity of
the Court;
2. it shall discuss the report of the Chairman of the Court regarding the
by-gone year and take decision on it;
3. it shall consider the practice of the Court, regarding the normative acts,
common to both domestic and international disputes in view of its unification.
(2) The decisions of the
SECRETARIAT
Art. 9. (1) The office of the court of
Arbitration shall consist of secretaries and other officials appointed by the
President of the National Business and Law Association with the consent of the
Chairman of the Court of Arbitration.
(2) The secretaries of the Court of Arbitration must be graduates in law
and to have juridical knowledge. The secretaries for international disputes
must be able to communicate in and to be fluent at least in written and spoken
English, at least, and preferably in one of the other European languages most
widely used.
(3) The secretaries of the Court of Arbitration
shall organize and run the files of the cases and the correspondence of the
Court as well as shall perform those proceedings assigned to them by the Rules
of the Court.
(4) The personnel of the Office of the Court of
Arbitration shall be included in the list of officers of the National Business
and Law Association.
FINANCES
Art. 10. (1) All amounts of money due for disputes, submitted to
the Court of Arbitration, shall be deposited with the bank account of the
National Business and Law Association.
(2) The expenses for the maintenance of the Court of Arbitration shall be
borne by the National Business and Law Association.
(3) For their participation in the cases and
their resolution, the arbitrators and mediators shall be remunerated according
to a tariff based on the value of the claim. This tariff also shall determine
the way to remunerate the Chairman of the Court of Arbitration and his deputies
for the work done by them.
STATUTE, RULES AND TARIFFS
Art. 11. The Statute of the Court of Arbitration, its Rules regarding the settlement of the disputes as well as the Tariffs for the arbitration charges and for the fees of the arbitrators, shall be adopted and amended by President of the National Business and Law Association after the suggestion of the Administrative Council of the National Business and Law Association.