The international arbitration review

Bulgaria

• In respect of commercial arbitration, the limitation of consumer disputes, although limiting the number of cases, may have positive effects in terms of the credibility and integrity of arbitration.
• Lower fees for arbitration compared with fees in the state courts, the faster arbitration process and the considerable workload of the state courts, which often impedes judges from going into the details of a dispute, are favourable conditions for commercial arbitration to expand in Bulgaria across sectors.
• Investment arbitration may also experience growth as the recently adopted legislative measures in the energy sector in Bulgaria could generate a considerable number of investment claims.
• The most important legislative development in the field of arbitration in Bulgaria in recent years is the amendments to the Civil Procedure Code and the ICAA of 2017 (2017 amendments).

What do the amendments mean in practice? And what are the most important judgments in the past year? Contact our experts Anna Rizova and Oleg Temnikov.

Austria

• The amendment of the Arbitration Act in 2013 and the revision of the Vienna Rules in 2018 demonstrate that Austria and its arbitration community constantly observe trends in international arbitration and improve the legal framework where necessary.
• These efforts are supported by the jurisprudence, particularly since the Supreme Court has established a special chamber that rules on all matters relating to setting aside claims and the composition of arbitral tribunals.
• Austria’s status as a recognized hub for international arbitration can also be seen in the opening of a regional office of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in Vienna in 2022.
• Developments in recent years have shown that Austrian investors are more and more willing to make use of their rights under investment treaties.
• It is noteworthy that Austria – along with Ireland, Finland and Sweden – did not enter into the Agreement for the termination of Bilateral Investment Treaties between the Member States of the European Union. It remains to be seen whether this will have an effect on the willingness of Austrian investors to seek investment protection before investment tribunals.

Do you need more insights to the current state-of-play in Austria? Contact our experts Venus Valentina Wong and Alexander Zollner. A written summary we produced in corporation with The Law Reviews is available here.