- within Immigration, Transport and Intellectual Property topic(s)
- in European Union
October 2025 – On 1 August 2025, Bulgaria introduced significant changes to its arbitration law, the title of which is now the Arbitration Act.
The changes aim at promoting transparency and trust in arbitration proceedings. While some amendments were welcomed by practitioners in the field, others may raise questions, including of practical nature, related to excessive formality, administrative burdens and threat to the confidentiality.
1. Who is affected
- arbitration institutions with seat in Bulgaria;
- international arbitration institutions with seat outside of Bulgaria – when the place of the arbitration proceedings is in Bulgaria;
- ad hoc international arbitration tribunals – when the place of the arbitration proceedings is in Bulgaria.
2. What are the changes
Registration requirements:
(i) Arbitration institutions with seat in Bulgaria are obliged to register with the new Register of Arbitrations, maintained by the Ministry of Justice.
(ii) Any arbitration proceedings with a place of arbitration in Bulgaria have to be registered in the Register of Arbitrations – including if it is before: (i) a foreign arbitration institution with seat outside of Bulgaria, or (ii) an ad hoc international arbitration tribunal.
Most importantly, lack of registration under (i) or (ii) above leads to nullity of the issued arbitral award.
For both (i) and (ii) above, the Register of Arbitrations will maintain electronic files where relevant applications, documents and acts will be submitted and kept.
Only the information on the arbitration institutions and the arbitrators will be public. The information and documents on the arbitration proceedings will be accessible by the Minister of Justice, the authorised registry officers, the Inspectorate to the Minister of Justice and the court.
New grounds for setting aside arbitral awards by the Supreme Court of Cassation
After being repealed in 2017, the contradiction with public policy is now re-introduced as a ground for setting aside an arbitral award. This brings the Arbitration Act in line with the grounds for refusal of recognition and enforcement of foreign awards under the New York Convention. Claim for setting aside on this ground may be filed within 3 months from receipt of the award.
The other new grounds for setting aside include cases where in court proceedings it is established that (i) evidence, expert conclusion or witness statement, on which the arbitral award is based, is false, or (ii) a party (or its representative), a member of the arbitral tribunal or its staff member has committed out a criminal act, in connection with the determination of the case. Claim for setting aside on these grounds may be filed within three months from entry into force of the respective court decision/criminal judgment.
Enforcement
The Supreme Court of Cassation may now order suspension of enforcement of an arbitral award even without a guarantee payment, if there is compelling written evidence for the existence of a ground for set aside. There is no sufficient clarity on what will be considered “compelling written evidence” and how this will be applied in practice. This creates room for potential abuse of claims for suspension in order to delay the enforcement of arbitral awards.
Further, upon a request for enforcement of an arbitral award, the competent regional court will make ex officio checks in the Register of Arbitrations to verify if the arbitral award is null and void due to a lack of registration.
3. What are the implications
Deadlines and pending proceedings
By 1 December 2025:
- The Minister of Justice has to adopt the respective secondary legislation regulating the Register of Arbitrations and create the register;
- The Council of Ministers has to adopt the respective secondary legislation regulating the fees for registration and checks in the Register of Arbitrations.
By 1 March 2026 (presumably):
- Arbitration institutions with seat in Bulgaria have to apply for registration within three months from creation of the Register of Arbitrations.
Pending arbitration proceedings have to be completed in compliance with the new requirements for registration. This means that arbitral awards may only be issued after the relevant registrations are made.
As a result, arbitration institutions (both Bulgarian and foreign) need to monitor carefully the implementation of the secondary legislation and apply for registration of their institution (if seated in Bulgaria) or of their arbitration proceedings (if foreign, but place of arbitration is in Bulgaria).
Choosing the place of arbitration in Bulgaria
Investors should consider all of the above when opting for an arbitration agreement with a place of arbitration in Bulgaria. If such choice is made and a dispute arises, investors should be vigilant and check if the respective arbitration institution or arbitration proceedings are duly registered in Bulgaria, so as to avoid potential invalidity of the issued arbitral award.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
