site.btaCourt of Arbitration with BCCI Terminates Case for NAVIBULGAR's Privatization

Sofia, July 12 (BTA) - The Court of Arbitration with the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) has terminated the proceedings on a case of KG Maritime Shipping against the Privatization and Post-Privatization Control Agency (PPCA) concerning amendments to the privatization agreement of NAVIBULGAR, for lack of competence to review the dispute. Thus, KG Maritime Shipping's demands to amend the privatization agreement of NAVIBULGAR are not granted and the case is conclusively closed in favour of the State, reads a press release from Deputy Prime Minister Valeri Simeonov's office received by BTA on Thursday.

The legal dispute started in response to a decision of the Court of Arbitration from 2016, which partially takes into consideration KG Maritime Shipping's demand to amend the privatization agreement, and which allows avoiding sanctions for not honouring the privatization agreement, the press release recalls. On June 30, 2017, the Council of Ministers passed a decision, which PPCA asked the Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) to repeal. Four moths later, the SCC repealed the decision and returned the case to the Court of Arbitration.

PPCA is expected to review on December 21, 2018 the implementation of the privatization agreement and, if needed, will undertake to impose a penalty of approximately to 58 million leva, the press release says.