Adopted on 13 March 2009 and effective as of 13 March 2009
STATUS
Article 1
(1) A permanent arbitration institution is hereby established under the NON-PROFIT ASSOCIATION “LEGAL AID AND MEDIATION”.
(2) The arbitration institution operates through offices in Sofia, Varna and Veliko Tarnovo. Each office of the institution maintains a reception office, case administration office and archive.
JURISDICTION
Article 2
(1) The Arbitration Court at the non-profit association “Legal Aid and Mediation” resolves civil and commercial disputes of a proprietary nature, as well as disputes concerning the filling of gaps in contracts or their adaptation to newly arising circumstances, between natural persons and legal entities domiciled or having their registered offices either in the Republic of Bulgaria or abroad. The Arbitration Court at the non-profit association “Legal Aid and Mediation” shall not resolve disputes referred to in Article 19(1) of the Bulgarian Code of Civil Procedure.
(2) Disputes shall be heard in accordance with the Rules of the Arbitration Court at the non-profit association “Legal Aid and Mediation”.
STRUCTURE
Article 3
(1) The Arbitration Court shall consist of one or more Presidents, arbitrators and a Secretariat.
(2) The Arbitration Court shall resolve the disputes referred to it through a tribunal composed of three arbitrators or a sole arbitrator. Their rights and obligations shall be identical.
PRESIDENT
Article 4
(1) The President or Presidents shall be elected by the General Assembly of the non-profit association “Legal Aid and Mediation” for a term of three years.
(2) The President or Presidents shall have the following functions:
- to take measures to implement the decisions of the Arbitration Panel;
- to make decisions concerning the activities of the Arbitration Court;
- to decide on the award of certificates of merit for contributions to the Arbitration Court.
(3) Decisions of the President of the Arbitration Court shall be made in writing and signed by the President.
Article 5
(1) The President or Presidents of the Arbitration Court shall represent the Court both domestically and internationally.
(2) The President or Presidents shall convene meetings of the Arbitration Panel and report to the Panel on the activities of the Court.
ARBITRATORS
Article 6
(1) Arbitrators shall be entered on or removed from the lists of arbitrators by a resolution of the General Assembly of the non-profit association “Legal Aid and Mediation”. An arbitrator whose name has been entered on the list may be removed in the event of death; upon reaching the maximum age determined by the Management Board; where the arbitrator becomes permanently unable to perform their duties; in the event of serious breaches of these Statutes or the Rules of the Arbitration Court at the non-profit association “Legal Aid and Mediation”; or where the arbitrator has not been nominated by any party to arbitration proceedings for a period of two years.
(2) Effective as of 7 November 2025. An arbitrator may be a legally competent adult who has not been convicted of an intentional criminal offence of a general nature, irrespective of any subsequent rehabilitation; holds a university degree; has at least eight years of professional experience; has not been deprived of the right to practise a particular profession or carry out a particular activity, or to hold a particular position; is not subject to insolvency proceedings, has not been declared insolvent without subsequently having their rights restored, and has not been convicted of bankruptcy-related offences; and possesses high moral standards and professional competence. These circumstances shall be verified ex officio on the basis of supporting documents and a written declaration by the arbitrator.
(3) Arbitrators shall be independent and impartial in the performance of their functions. They shall not act as representatives of the parties. Arbitrators shall be bound to preserve the confidentiality of the Court's deliberations and any information obtained in connection with the performance of their duties.
(4) As amended, effective as of 10 August 2026. Where a person is proposed for appointment as an arbitrator or as the presiding member of the Arbitral Tribunal, that person shall disclose, in a written declaration submitted to the Secretariat, all circumstances that may give rise to justifiable doubts as to their impartiality or independence. In the declaration, the arbitrator shall undertake to comply strictly with these Statutes and the Rules of the Arbitration Court and shall provide a current email address for correspondence with the Secretariat, the other members of the Arbitral Tribunal and the President of the Arbitration Court. This obligation shall also apply after the arbitrator's appointment. The declaration shall be forwarded to the parties.
(5) As amended, effective as of 10 August 2026. The declaration referred to in paragraph (4) of this Article shall be signed by the arbitrator and submitted to the Secretariat of the Arbitration Court within seven days of the arbitrator being notified of their election or appointment as an arbitrator or as the presiding member of the Arbitral Tribunal.
(6) New provision, effective as of 10 August 2026. Failure to submit the declaration within the prescribed period shall be deemed a refusal to accept the election or appointment as an arbitrator.
(7) New provision, effective as of 10 August 2026. The lists referred to in paragraph (1) shall be made available to any interested person and published on the Arbitration Court's website.
DUTIES OF ARBITRATORS
Article 7
(1) As amended, effective as of 10 August 2026. Arbitrators who are members of or participate in legal practices shall not accept their election or appointment as arbitrators in proceedings where a party to the dispute has instructed the legal practice in which they participate to provide legal services in connection with that dispute.
(2) The following persons may not act as arbitrators: Members of Parliament, ministers, deputy ministers, heads of government departments, members of the Constitutional Court and any other persons prohibited by law from acting as arbitrators.
(3) As amended, effective as of 10 August 2026. In the performance of their duties, arbitrators shall observe the fundamental principles of arbitration proceedings: expeditiousness, competence and confidentiality.
(4) As amended, effective as of 10 August 2026. The time limits applicable to arbitration proceedings shall be observed by all arbitrators, the Secretariat and the President of the Arbitration Court.
- The preliminary case report shall be prepared by the presiding member of the Arbitral Tribunal after consultation with the other members of the Tribunal. It shall be signed by them and submitted to the Secretariat of the Arbitration Court within 14 days of the case being assigned for consideration.
- Procedural orders and directions in the case shall be prepared by the presiding member of the Arbitral Tribunal after consultation with the other members of the Tribunal. They shall be signed by the members and submitted to the Secretariat of the Arbitration Court within 14 days of the event giving rise to the need to issue the relevant arbitral procedural act.
- The arbitral award under Article 37(2) of the Rules of the Arbitration Court shall be adopted in a closed session by a majority of the members of the Arbitral Tribunal within 14 days of the case being declared ready for decision or, where the case involves legal or factual complexity, within 30 days of that date.
- The award shall be drafted by the presiding member, signed by all members of the Arbitral Tribunal and submitted to the Secretariat of the Arbitration Court within 30 days after expiry of the period specified in item 3.
- In expedited proceedings, or in proceedings for the correction, interpretation or supplementation of an award, the time limits specified in items 3 and 4 shall be reduced by half.
- At the request of a member of the Arbitral Tribunal, the time limit under paragraph (4) may be extended once by the President of the Arbitration Court, for a period of up to 30 days.
- Where the time limits under paragraph (4) are not observed, the arbitrator shall be replaced by their substitute, and the full remuneration shall be paid to the substitute.
- Where two replacements have occurred under item 7, the arbitrator shall be removed from the Arbitration Court's list of arbitrators upon the proposal of the President of the Arbitration Court and by resolution of the General Assembly of the non-profit association “Legal Aid and Mediation”.
- If an arbitrator declines the appointment, dies, becomes unable to perform their duties or fails to perform them for more than 60 days, they shall be replaced by the arbitrator designated as their substitute. The same shall apply where an arbitrator is suddenly prevented from attending a scheduled hearing or where any of the grounds specified in Article 7, item 7 of the Statutes of the Arbitration Court arises in respect of that arbitrator. In such cases, the substitute shall continue the proceedings until their final conclusion.
- All statements made by arbitrators and all procedural acts drawn up by them shall be made in writing and signed by hand or by means of a qualified electronic signature within the meaning of Article 13(3) of the Bulgarian Electronic Document and Electronic Certification Services Act.
(5) New provision; former paragraph (3), effective as of 10 August 2026. Arbitrators shall monitor the payment of arbitration fees, arbitration costs and advances for expert witnesses in the arbitration proceedings to which they have been elected or appointed.
(6) New provision; former paragraph (4), effective as of 10 August 2026. Where the Arbitral Tribunal has not issued a procedural order in arbitration proceedings requiring payment of arbitration fees, arbitration costs or advances for expert witnesses due under the Arbitration Court's Schedule of Fees and Costs, such amounts shall be payable jointly and severally by the arbitrators elected or appointed in the case and may be set off against the remuneration due to them.
ARBITRATION PANEL
Article 8
(1) The arbitrators shall constitute an Arbitration Panel, which shall:
- make decisions on organisational matters concerning the Court;
- review the President's report on the Court's activities for the preceding year and adopt a decision thereon;
- review the Court's practice concerning legal provisions common to domestic and international cases, with a view to ensuring consistency in their application.
(2) The Arbitration Panel shall be represented by a Chairperson, who need not be an arbitrator. The Chairperson of the Arbitration Panel shall be appointed by the President of the Association for a term of three years.
SECRETARIAT
Article 9
(1) The administrative office of the Arbitration Court shall consist of secretaries and other staff members appointed by the President of the non-profit association “Legal Aid and Mediation”.
(2) The Court's secretaries shall organise case administration and the archive, conduct the Court's correspondence and perform such procedural actions in individual cases as are assigned to them under the applicable Rules.
(3) The case administration office shall provide information on arbitration proceedings from the commencement of each case until its transfer to the archive. Case administration shall also be maintained electronically, with an electronic case file created for each case. Access to the electronic case file shall be provided to the parties, the arbitrators elected or appointed to hear and decide the case, the Court, the Minister of Justice and the Inspectorate to the Minister of Justice under the Judicial System Act.
(4) Closed case files shall be retained in the archive for 10 years following the conclusion of the proceedings. Awards and the reasons supporting them, as well as settlement agreements, shall be retained for 50 years.
FINANCES
Article 10
(1) All amounts received in connection with proceedings before the Arbitration Court shall be paid into a separate bank account of the non-profit association “Legal Aid and Mediation”.
(2) The operating expenses of the Arbitration Court shall be borne by the non-profit association “Legal Aid and Mediation”.
STATUTES, RULES AND SCHEDULES OF FEES
Article 11
The Statutes of the Arbitration Court, the rules governing the resolution of disputes, the schedules of arbitration fees and the remuneration of arbitrators shall be adopted and amended by the General Assembly of the non-profit association “Legal Aid and Mediation”.
These Statutes were adopted by the Constituent Assembly of the non-profit association “AC – VT” at its meeting held on 13 March 2009 and entered into force on 13 March 2009; amended by a resolution of the General Assembly of the non-profit association “Legal Aid and Mediation” adopted on 30 January 2017, effective as of 30 January 2017; amended by a resolution of the General Assembly of the non-profit association “Legal Aid and Mediation” adopted on 7 November 2025, effective as of 7 November 2025; amended by a resolution of the General Assembly of the non-profit association “Legal Aid and Mediation” adopted on 30 December 2025, effective as of 1 January 2026; and amended by a resolution of the General Assembly of the non-profit association “Legal Aid and Mediation” adopted on 10 August 2026, effective as of 10 August 2026.