RULES CONCERNING "AD HOC" ARBITRATION ASSISTED BY THE COURT OF ARBITRATION AT
THE BULGARIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

Art. 1. These Rules shall apply when parties to an international commercial contract ihave included in their contract a clause for “ad hoc” arbitration, assisted by the Court of arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. (see art. 2 bellow).
Art. 2. The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry offer to the parties in international commercial contracts to include in these contracts the following clause for arbitration, which provides the resolution of a dispute by an “ad hoc” arbitration, assisted by the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry:

“Any disputes, arising from this contract or concerning its interpretation, invalidity, non-feasance or termination shall be resolved by arbitration following the Rules for “ad hoc” arbitration, assisted by the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The language to be used in the arbitration proceedings shall be ........ “.

Art. 3. (1) The Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry shall offer to the “ad hoc” arbitration assisted by the Court cooperation for its composition and a comprehensive administrative assistance and service, which shall include:
  1. sending (by mail, telefax or telex) the correspondence to the parties and the arbitrators related to the arbitrationproceedings, with the exception of such sent directly;
  2. drawing up minutes of the hearings;
  3. interpretation during the hearings;
  4. provision of premises for the hearings and for deliberations of the arbitrators;
  5. participation in the setting of dates and places of the hearings and the deliberations as well as in the notification of the respective interested parties;
  6. hotel reservations for the arbitrators;
  7. book-keeping of expenses related to the assisted “ad hoc” arbitration;
  8. other assistance, provided for in the following articles, or which may be considered by the “ad hoc” Arbitral Tribunal necessary for the appropriate conduct of proceedings.

(2) The above functions shall be performed by the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in cooperation with the presiding arbitrator of the “ad hoc” Arbitral Tribunal or with the sole arbitrator.

(3) In order to facilitate the appointment of arbitrators, the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry shall draft and announce a list of persons of different nationalities, possessing the qualifications necessary to perform the functions of arbitrators in international commercial arbitration.

The parties and the arbitrators shall also be able to elect for arbitrators persons not included in the said list.

Art. 4. (1) The seat of the “ad hoc” arbitration shall be the city of Sofia.

(2) The parties shall be able to agree upon the procedure for initiation of the “ad hoc” arbitration, for challenging arbitrators and for hearings of the cases. Such an agreement may be reached also by referring to the Rules of any arbitration institution chosen by the parties.

(3) When there is no agreement between the parties on the “ad hoc” arbitration rules, the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, together with the amendments ensuing from art. 5 and art. 6 of these Rules, and as far as art. 38, art. 39 and art. 41 of the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules are concerned – with the amendments ensuing from art. 7 to art. 16 of these Rules.

(4) The provisions of art. 7 through art. 17 of these Rules shall not be subject to any amendments made by the parties.

Art. 5. (1) The party requesting arbitration under these Rules shall send to the Secretariat of the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry a copy of the request for arbitration directed to the other party, containing the names of an arbitrator and his/her substitute. The above party shall pay to the account of the Court of Arbitration at of the the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry the amount of USD 250 for the initial administrative expenses for the arbitration proceedings.

(2) The respondent in the reply to the statement of claim shall appoint an arbitrator and a substitute, furnish information about them and may submit a counter-claim, if any. The respondent shall send the reply directly to the claimant, and a copy of the reply to the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Simultaneously with the submission of a counter-claim, the respondent shall pay to the account of the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry the amount of USD 250 for expenses referred to in the above para.

(3) If no advance, referred to in paragraphs (1) or (2) above, has been paid, the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry shall not be obliged to render its assistance to arbitration proceedings related to the original or the counter-claims.

(4) The “ad hoc” Arbitral Tribunal shall communicate with the parties through the Secretary of the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Secretary may assign this function to a delegated employee of the Secretariat.

(5) The day when a letter or document is served on the Secretariat of the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and \Industry or when a registered letter is mailed to the address of the Secretariat shall be considered as the date of serving the said documents on the “ad hoc” Arbitral Tribunal.

(6) The presiding arbitrator may consent to sending the letters, notices or documents directly to an address, with a copy to the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

(7) Letters, notices and documents, sent through the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, shall be submitted to the Secretary in as many copies as the number of addresses plus one additional copy for the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Art. 6. (1) If within 30 days or within 50 days respectively, when the seats of the parties are in different continents, from the date of receipt of the request for arbitration, the respondent failed to indicate an arbitrator, such an arbitrator shall be appointed by the President of the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, chosen among persons who shall not be nationals or residents of the country of the seat of the claimant.

If within 30 days of the appointment of the second arbitrator, the two arbitrators fail to elect a presiding arbitrator, he/she shall be appointed by the President of the Court of Arbitration.

(2) The parties may agree that the presiding arbitrator be elected from the candidates nominated by the two arbitrators, and in such case each arbitrator shall be entitled to nominate no more than three arbitrators

(3) Upon request of any of the parties, the election of the presiding arbitrator may be effected by casting lots, drawn by the President of the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Authorized. representatives of the parties shall be admitted to the drawing of the lots. For this purpose the Secretary of the Court of Arbitration shall inform the parties not later than 15 days in advance of the date of drawing the lots.

(4) If within 15 days from the respective request of one of the parties the arbitrators or one of them fail(s) to nominate candidates for a presiding arbitrator, the latter shall be appointed by the President of the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

(5) When the parties have agreed that the dispute is to be resolved by a sole arbitrator but have failed to elect this sole arbitrator within 30 days of the date of the request of one of the parties for the election of a particular person, the sole arbitrator shall be appointed by the President of the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

(6) When the President of the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has to appoint a presiding arbitrator or a sole arbitrator, the person to be appointed shall be a citizen or a resident of a state, different from the states in which the seats of the parties are.

(7) The provisions of this article shall apply also in the cases of replacement of arbitrators, if such replacement is provided for in the arbitration rules applicable.

Art. 7. (1) The amount of the advance payment to cover the expenses of the proceedings shall, upon a request of the Secretary of the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, be determined by the President of the said Court in compliance with the provisions of articles 8 through 12 of these Rules.

The amount of the advance payment shall depend on the value of the claim indicated in the statement of claim and on the value of the possible counter-claim, specified in the reply of the respondent as well as on the expected expenses of the arbitration proceedings.

When necessary, the amount of the advance payment may be increased in the course of the proceedings.

(2) Each party shall deposit a half of the advance payment with the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry within a time limit determined by the President of the said Court, which time limit, however, shall not be less than 30 days.

(3) If within the above- mentioned time limit the respondent on the original claim or the one on the counter-claim fails to pay his/her share of the advance payment, this same share may be paid by the claimant within the time limit determined by the President of the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

If no advance payment is deposited the proceedings on the claim or on the counter-claim shall be suspended. The President of the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry shall grant the claimant an additional time limit but if within this new time limit no advance payment is effected the proceedings on the original or the counter-claim shall be terminated.

(4) The case file shall be delivered to the arbitrators or to the sole arbitrator following the payment of the advance deposit.

(5) The advance deposits, referred to in art. 5, paras (1) and (2), shall be deducted from the due administrative charges, determined according to the provisions of art. 11 below.

Art. 8. (1) The expenses for the arbitration proceedings shall include the administrative charges of the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the remuneration of the arbitrators, fixed in accordance with the provisions of art. 11 and art. 12 of these Rules, the travel expenses, accommodation costs and daily allowances of the arbitrators as well as the expenses for the expert opinions or for collection of other evidence by the Court of Arbitration.

(2) The amount of the advance deposit for the admitted expert opinions or for collection of other evidence shall be fixed by the Arbitral Tribunal in consultation with the Secretary of the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The advance shall be deposited by the party requesting the collection of evidence. In the case when the expert is appointed by the “ad hoc’ Arbitral Tribunal or following a request by one or with the consent of both parties, each party shall deposit a half of the advance payment.

If there is no advance payment no evidence shall be collected.

Art. 9. The amount of the advance deposit shall be determined in US currency by the President of the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, acting on a proposition of the Secretary of the Court. If the claim or the counter-claim are formulated in any other currency, the Secretary of the Court shall calculate the value under dispute into US currency according to the rate of exchange of the Bulgarian National Bank on the day of submission of the original or the counter-claim.
Art. 10. When the claim cannot be assessed in terms of money, the amount of the advance deposit shall be determined depending on the circumstances and on the nature of the dispute. In such case the fee of an arbitrator shall not be less than USD 1 000.
Art. 11. The administrative charges of the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry shall be calculated according to the following table, depending on the value under dispute, which in the case of an original and a counter-claim shall be equal to the sum total of both values:
Value of the dispute in USD Arbitration charge in USD
up to 50 000 500
from 50 001 up to 100 000 500
+ 1.0% for amount over 50 000
from 100 001 up to 500 000 1 000
+ 0.5% for amount over 100 000
from 500 001 up to 1 000 000 3 000
+ 0.2% for amount over 500 000
over 1 000 000 4 000
+ 0.1% for amount over 1 000 000
but no more than 10 000
Art. 12. (1) The arbitrator fees shall be determined according to the following table, depending on the value under dispute, which in case of an original and a counter-claim shall be equal to the sum total of both claims; the fee of the presiding arbitrator shall be increased by 30%.
Value of the dispute in USD Arbitrator fee in USD
up to 50 000 1 000
from 50 001 up to 100 000 1 500
from 100 001 up to 300 000 2 000
from 300 001 up to 500 000 2 500
from 500 001 up to 1 000 000 4 000
from 1 000 001 up to 2 000 000 6 000
over 2 000 000 10 000

(2) Depending on the degree of complexity of the subject matter of the dispute and the time used for its resolution, upon request of the presiding arbitrator or of the sole arbitrator, the President of the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry may increase the amount of remuneration of the arbitrators but with no more than 50% of the above table.

Art. 13. Arbitrators shall have their remuneration paid within 30 days from the date of signing the award. Any arbitrator who refuses to sign the award shall not be entitled to remuneration.
Art. 14. The Secretary of the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, on the request of the presiding arbitrator or of the sole arbitrator, shall submit an account of the expenses incurred on the case. After the the award, has been rendered the Secretary shall authenticate it by his/her signature and the seal of the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and shall serve the award on the parties.
Art. 15. An arbitrator may request an advance allowance to cover the expenses in connection with his/her participation in the proceedings. The amount of this advance allowance shall be determined by the President of the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Art. 16. The unspent amount of the advance allowance for expenses shall be refunded to the parties which has advanced the deposit.

The amount of USD 250, referred to in art. 5, shall not be subject to refunding.

Art. 17. The Secretary of the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, appointed by the President of the Court of Arbitration for Secretary of the “ad hoc” arbitration on an individual case, the stenographer-secretary, keeping the minutes of the hearings of the Tribunal, and the interpreters shall receive their remuneration in Bulgarian currency, calculated according to the tariffs and rules currently in force in the Republic of Bulgaria.
Art. 18. (1) On the basis of an agreement with the parties or with the arbitrators of the “ad hoc” arbitration, the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry may make available only a part of the administrative services, related to the “ad hoc” arbitration proceedings.

(2) In such cases the range of the administrative services from the Court of Arbitration as well as the amount of the administrative charges shall be determined an agreement, as referred to in para (1) above.

The administrative charges, the amounts for the remuneration of the arbitrators, as well as the expenses for the expert opinions or for collection of other evidence by the Court of Arbitration shall be deposited with the account of the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.


These Rules were adopted by the Executive Council of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the basis of art. 9 (4), item 2 of the Statute of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry during its session, held on 17.01.1989, under a resolution of Minutes No. 1.