On April 12, 2024, the Reporting Assembly of the Court of Arbitration at the BCCI was held, at which the report on the activities of the AC in 2023 was presented and discussed, focusing on the results of the AC’s work in general and on the implementation of specific directions and of the proposals of the members of the Arbitration Collegium addressed to the Presidium of the AC at the BCCI at the previous Reporting Assembly, concerning changes in the regulation of the institution and the respective legal and organizational measures.
On the part of the management, the activity on the promotion of the Court of Arbitration was presented in terms of participation of arbitrators in international events, arbitration cases in other foreign arbitration institutions, as well as conferences, training courses, meetings and other initiatives organized by the AC at BCCI.
The insignificant number of annulled arbitral judgements was noted, which is an indicator of the good quality of the BCCI AC's adjudication activity, which receives its positive assessment with the outcome of the Supreme Court of Cassation's ruling on claims brought under Article 47 of the International Commercial Arbitration Act.
At the meeting the topic of awarding costs in arbitration proceedings was discussed in relation to the current regulation in the Tariff of Arbitration Fees and Costs in cases heard by the AC at the BCCI. The topic was chosen in view of a ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union on lawyers' costs on a preliminary reference of a judge, which created a serious stir in the ranks of lawyers and was reflected in our country. Anastas Punev, a lawyer, was invited to be the rapporteur on the topic and he thanked for the invitation and congratulated the management of the Court of Arbitration for the timely response to a topical and important issue such as the one related to liability for costs.
In conclusion, the management of the Court of Arbitration at the BCCI expressed its gratitude to all arbitrators and employees of the institution for the professionalism shown in 2023 in the performance of their assigned functions.