The Ministry of Justice officially puts into operation the Register of Arbitrations starting today, and the regulation that governs its activity enters into force, the ministry announced. These are the latest changes with which the reform of arbitration proceedings, which began a few months ago, is now fully completed from a legal and technical point of view.
With the changes in the Arbitration Act, a register of arbitrations is introduced for the first time in Bulgaria. A modern register was built in extremely short timeframes, which allows the registration of all arbitration institutions with headquarters in the Republic of Bulgaria, as well as all arbitration proceedings whose place of arbitration is on the territory of the country. This includes ad hoc arbitrations, as well as proceedings conducted before foreign institutions when the arbitration is regulated in Bulgaria, the ministry added.
The register is public with respect to the basic data on arbitration institutions, as well as the names and professions of the registered arbitrators. The remaining information – such as parties to specific cases, details of proceedings, documents submitted, etc. – is confidential and accessible only to the competent courts and authorized employees of the Ministry of Justice.
The new system enables citizens and legal entities to easily check the legitimacy of arbitration institutions, the status of the arbitrator and their professional qualifications. The Ministry of Justice recalls that the changes in the law were caused by dozens of cases of scandalous arbitration decisions, made by practically uncontrollable arbitrators and arbitrations.
BTA recalls that last week the Minister of Justice Georgi Georgiev announced that the government had approved changes to the Regulations for registrations, aimed at limiting property fraud and misuse of sensitive data. He recalled that the measure is part of a broader package of reforms against property fraud, including the new arbitration law and upcoming changes in civil and criminal law. According to him, the steps taken should turn the efforts of the institutions into a permanent state policy.