Промени в арбитражното производство

Introduction

In 2025, arbitration proceedings in Bulgaria underwent some of the most significant changes in recent decades. With the Act Amending and Supplementing the International Commercial Arbitration Act, promulgated in the State Gazette, issue 63 of August 1, 2025, important changes were made both to the name very thankful of the act itself (now the ArbitrationAct))and to the way arbitral institutions operate and arbitration cases are conducted. Along with this, substantial changes were introduced in the judicial review of arbitral awards. This article is focused precisely on them.

The main goal of the reform is to limit abuses of the arbitration process and to restore trust in arbitration as a fast and reliable method for resolving commercial disputes.

Reinstatement of Public Policy Violation as a Ground for Setting Aside

Eight years after the repeal of this ground, , it is once again permissible for an arbitral award to be set aside when it contradicts the public policy of the Republic of Bulgaria.

This ground was removed in 2017 without clear reasons being stated in the motives of the bill. Now, with its reinstatement in Art. 47, Para. 1, Item 3 of the Arbitration Act, the Supreme Court of Cassation will once again be able to set aside arbitral awards that clearly contradict the fundamental principles of Bulgarian law.

Introduction of New Grounds for Setting Aside

The amendments also introduce an entirely new ground for setting aside an arbitral award related to the legality of the proceedings themselves.

It will now be possible to request a setting aside when it is established through the proper judicial procedures that:

untrue documents, false witness testimonies, or false expert conclusions on which the award is based have been used;
a crime has been committed by a party to the case, its representative, or even by a member of the arbitral tribunal in connection with the case.

This change is a response to cases in which property and financial frauds were facilitated through forged documents presented in arbitration proceedings.

In essence, this new ground is similar to an already existing ground for the revocation of final court decisions under Art. 303, Para. 1, Item 2 of the Civil Procedure Code. Therefore, the accumulated case law on this provision will likely be useful in interpreting the new rule.

Register of Arbitrations and Nullity of Awards in the Absence of Registration

Among the most significant reforms is the creation of a Central Electronic Register of Arbitrations and Arbitrators at the Ministry of Justice, which enters into force on December 3, 2025. This change also affects the question of when an arbitral award is null and void. Until now, an arbitral award was considered null and void only if the arbitration had ruled on a dispute that by law cannot be resolved by arbitration.

Following the changes, nullity will also be present when the award is rendered by an arbitration or an arbitrator not registered in the register. As an additional guarantee, the law stipulates that in a claim for setting aside, the Supreme Court of Cassation will monitor ex officio not only whether the dispute is arbitrable at all, but also whether the award was rendered by a registered arbitration.

Procedural Facilitations and Financial Accessibility

The changes aim not only for more effective control but also for easier access to protection.

Until now, the state fee for claims under Art. 47 of the law was 4% of the material interest. Although this is the usual rate for civil and commercial cases, in practice, the fee often proved to be a serious obstacle for parties wishing to challenge an arbitral award.

With the amendments to Тthe ariff for State Fees, it is now provided that for a claim for setting aside or for establishing the nullity of an arbitral award, a fee of 1% of the interest is owed, but not more than BGN 3000. This significantly facilitates access to the proceedings before the Supreme Court of Cassation.

Alongside this, another important opportunity is introduced. Until now, the enforcement of an arbitral award could only be suspended if a guarantee in the amount of the interest in the setting aside was presented. Now, the Supreme Court of Cassation will be able to suspend enforcement even without such a guarantee when there is compelling written evidence that a ground for setting aside exists.

Conclusion

The amendments to the Commercial Arbitration Act (now the Arbitration Act) expand the grounds for setting aside arbitral awards and facilitate access for businesses and citizens to the protection of their rights. The aim is to ensure greater legal certainty and restore confidence in arbitration as an alternative to adjudication by state courts.

Nevertheless, the proceedings remain complex from a legal standpoint. Although the grounds for setting aside and for declaring nullity are now more numerous, they continue to be limited. In most cases, they do not affect the substance of the dispute itself. Furthermore, if certain objections are not raised in a timely manner during the arbitration proceedings themselves, they may not be able to serve as a ground for setting aside before the Supreme Court of Cassation later on. Therefore, the proceedings before the Supreme Court of Cassation should be conducted by attorneys with experience and knowledge in both arbitration proceedings and setting aside proceedings.

For this reason, proceedings before the Supreme Court of Cassation should be handled by attorneys with experience and expertise in both arbitration proceedings and cassation proceedings. The attorneys at KGK Law Firm possess precisely such expertise and knowledge, acquired through proceedings before arbitration tribunals and the Supreme Court of Cassation, as well as through research into the Arbitration Act and the case law regarding its application, including in connection with the amendments introduced.

If you need assistance regarding the setting aside of an arbitral award, you may contact us.