The main distinction of arbitration compared to state justice is its faster and more flexible nature of the procedure, as well as several times lower fees than those of state courts.

The Arbitration Court at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry is competent to consider civil and commercial property disputes, as well as disputes about filling gaps in the contract or adapting it to new circumstances between parties, individuals or legal entities, regardless of whether the residence and seat of the parties is in the Republic of Bulgaria or outside her. Disputes over property rights or possession of immovable property, labor and family rights, alimony disputes, as well as consumer disputes are outside the jurisdiction of the AC at the BCCI.

In the event that you wish to take advantage of the opportunity to obtain a high-quality and speedy resolution of commercial disputes with your business partners by assigning them to the Arbitration Court at the BCCI, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the main aspects of the arbitration procedure contained in the following a few points:

1. ARBITRATION AGREEMENT

The basis of any arbitration proceeding is a properly drafted and validly executed arbitration agreement. In order to submit a dispute for resolution to our arbitration court, you must include an arbitration clause in your commercial contracts, which you can find on our site under the “ARBITRATION CLAUSES” section.

An arbitration agreement is considered valid when it is made in writing. It may take the form of a clause in a written contract or be contained in general conditions to which the contract concluded between the parties refers, as well as in letters exchanged between the parties and other written means of communication or.

The parties may agree in the arbitration agreement:

• the case should be considered by a three-member panel of arbitrators or by a single arbitrator;
• the language of the proceedings;
• the seat of the arbitration;
• the applicable procedural rules, as long as they do not contradict the mandatory norms of the law applicable to the arbitration or the principles of these rules.

2. SUBMISSION AND CONTENTS OF CLAIM

Arbitration proceedings begin with the filing of a statement of claim at the Secretariat of the Court of Arbitration at its seat in the city of Sofia.

The claim must contain:

• the full name, unified identification codes (UIC) or PIC of the parties;
• address of the parties, telephone, telefax, e-mail address;
• value of the claim;
• statement of the facts on which the claim is based; 
• what the claim consists of;
• the name of the arbitrator or request that he be appointed by the President of the Arbitration Court;
• list of documents attached to the claim;
• signature of the claimant.

The claim must be accompanied by:

• the arbitration agreement, when the competence of the AC at the BCCI is not based on an international treaty;
• certificates for the current status of the claimant and the respondent;
• copies of the claim and written evidence according to the number of respondents.

The value of the claim is determined according to the rules of Art. 6, para. 1 of the Rules of the AC at the BCCI.

You can calculate the arbitration fee due by entering the value of the claim into the calculator on our site.

3. SELECTION OF ARBITRATOR

You can choose an arbitrator from the list of AC at the BCCI.

In cases in which a party is a foreign person or a local person with a predominant (more than 51%) foreign participation, it may designate as an arbitrator a foreigner who is not included in the lists of arbitrators at the AC of the BCCI.

The parties may appoint a sole arbitrator by mutual agreement from the list of arbitrators of the AC or provide the President of the Arbitration Court to appoint him.

4. ENFORCEMENT BASED ON ARBITRATION AWARD

You can obtain a writ of execution on the basis of the arbitral award issued by the AC at the BCCI, which does not need recognition and approval by the state court. Arbitral awards are final and enforceable against the defaulting debtor.

5. ELECTRONIC ACCESS TO YOUR CASE MATERIALS

You can take advantage of the provided technological security of the AC at the BCCI, which enables the parties to "on-line" inquiries and provides summarized and systematized information on the cases. The AC at the BCCI provides you with Internet access to the materials in your case 24 hours a day and 365/6 days a year. For this purpose, you need to fill out an access declaration, which is provided by the AC Secretariat.

ADDITIONAL FACILITY FOR THE PARTIES:

The seat of the AC at the BCCI is in Sofia, but in the arbitration clause that you included in the contract, you could indicate as the place of the arbitration another settlement that would be more convenient for you.