The Court of International Commercial Arbitration attached to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania

History

The Court of International Commercial Arbitration (the Court), attached to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania, was created in 1953 in Bucharest as a platform for settling foreign trade disputes by arbitration.

Organisation

Under Law No. 335 of 3 December 2007, the Court was reorganised as a permanent arbitral institution attached to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania, administering both domestic and international arbitration.

The president of the Court is Professor Ştefan Deaconu PhD, assisted by the vice president, associate Professor Bazil Oglindă PhD.

The Court maintains a list of arbitrators with strong reputations in business and academia; this list currently consists of 118 experienced professionals. The Court regularly updates the list, with new registration applications considered every year.

The Court operates under its own Arbitral Codex. It is run by a management board, which is vested with standard powers, in a manner very similar to other international arbitral institutions. Its powers are exercised in relation to arbitrators’ appointment and further status, constitution of the arbitral tribunals, administrative matters affecting its operation, closure of proceedings and matters related to costs, among other things. The management board oversees the proper implementation of the Rules of Arbitration as per the assigned role, while also representing the Court in domestic and international relations.

Services

Under the Regulation on the Organisation and Operation of the Court of International Commercial Arbitration attached to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania, the Court provides the following services:

• international and domestic commercial arbitration;
• legal assistance and support in relation to arbitral proceedings in general;
• research in the field of arbitration; and
• management of the cooperation between the arbitration commissions within the system of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Arbitration

According to its Rules of Arbitration, the Court settles, under the arbitration agreement concluded by the parties, in accordance with the law or, if specifically enabled ex aequo et bono, international and domestic commercial disputes.

• The arbitration process comprises the following:
• a permanent secretariat, composed of specialised counsel, paralegals and administrative staff;
• a dedicated service for the administration of ad hoc arbitration;
• the Rules of Arbitration in English and Romanian, and on-demand assistance in relation to their use and implementation;
• a dynamic list of reputable Romanian and foreign arbitrators; and
• hearing facilities located in the centre of Bucharest.

The Court administers commercial disputes across virtually all economic sectors, from infrastructure, construction, project finance and development to retail, distribution and equipment leasing, and from banking, capital markets and insurance to energy, oil and gas.

Similarly, in terms of legal complexity, dispute areas vary from corporate and joint venture-related matters to contract and tort, from public to private, and from concessions to property (commercial, industrial, etc).

Fee structure

Arbitration fees are calculated ad valorem, based on the scale corresponding to the procedure applicable and on the amount claimed (these scales are available on the Court’s website).

Key cases, clients and honours

In the decade since Romania joined the European Union, the Court has settled over 3,000 arbitration disputes, over 700 of which were international disputes.