Point of law: whether arbitration courts do have powers to compulsorily impose upon parties to arbitration proceedings fines for non-payment of arbitration fees provided for by the rules of the arbitration court?

Alternative views: 1) when signing a contract having an arbitration clause the parties thereby agree to the application of the rules of the arbitration proceedings including potential fines and similar sanctions. Therefore, the failure to perform their procedural duties, i.e. non-payment of fees, must be regarded as a violation of the obligations they have assumed under the civil law transaction with the arbitration court, whereas additional expenses shall constitute a penalty under such civil law contract; or 2) with regard to the dispute resolution in arbitration courts the same procedural guarantees should apply as to the dispute resolution in State courts where no fines are provided for in case of the failure to perform the procedural duty to pay in advance the State fee. In such a case the courts may refrain from taking the case for consideration and suspend the application. Courts of international arbitration and arbitration courts, being a form of alternative dispute resolution, do not have powers to apply fines and similar measures.

Ratio decidendi: the Presidium has endorsed the second view and also pointed out that arbitration courts may refuse to consider a case in the event of the applicant’s failure to pay arbitration fees. The imposition of fines would contradict the principle of voluntary recourse to the arbitration court which does not presuppose any compulsory financial measures against the parties.

Practical consequences: the Judgment says that prior court decisions in analogous cases if inconsistent with this interpretation may be reversed in the procedure and within the limits envisaged by Art 311 of the Commercial Procedure Code.