International conference “Arbitration – New Challenges”
An international conference “Arbitration – New Challenges” was held on 22 and 23 March. The event was organized by Sofia Bar Association, the Supreme Bar Council and the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The conference discussed the new technologies and the business in the 21st century, the responsibility of arbitrators, cooperation with the court, sports arbitration and arbitration for resolution of collective labour disputes.
At the invitation of the organizers, Lawyer Louis Buchman – President of the International Affairs Committee of the French National Bar Council, Mr. Juan Serrada - President of Madrid Court of Arbitration, and Lawyer Valence Borgia – Counsel at New York and Paris Bar Associations, took part in the event.
The main merit for “this first joint initiative with the leadership of the Bar Association” goes to the Chairman of Sofia Bar Association Ivaylo Danov, the President of BCCI Tsvetan Simeonov pointed out. Arbitration is an alternative to the state courts, which may be too conservative and slow for the needs of commercial turnover, that is why most chambers of commerce around the world also have arbitration courts, said the President of BCCI Tsvetan Simeonov.
„The Arbitration Court at BCCI has existed for more than 120 years and offers entrepreneurs another reliable way of facilitating their efforts to obtain fair and just decisions, as well as the opportunity to continue to develop their business regardless of the outcome of the case. BCCI will do its best to bring arbitration closer to entrepreneurs across the country by increasing the number of arbitrators, raising the trust in arbitration, and improving the arbitration procedure”, the President of the Chamber added.
The Deputy Minister of Justice Desislava Achladova also addressed the participants in the conference, saying “I fully agree with the aim of the conference, namely to identify the trends in arbitration, the new technologies and business in the 21st century, the protection of personal data, intellectual property, the interaction between the state courts and the arbitration court, as well as the exchange of international practices, and outlining the skills related to the work of arbitration courts”.
During the official opening, Yuriy Shterk, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, read a congratulatory address from the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva to the participants in the conference, stating that “Justice has always been one of the pillars on which the functions of the reasonable state system have been based. In Bulgaria, the Arbitration Court at BCCI plays a huge role for alternative, out-of-court methods for dispute resolution”.
