MOSCOW, May 8 (RAPSI) - Two bills to implement a reform of arbitration in Russia aimed at reducing the caseload of courts have been submitted to the lower house of parliament, the State Duma, according to a statement published Friday on the Russian government's official website.

Both bills were proposed by the Ministry of Justice upon instructions from the President.

Speaking at the Federal Assembly on December 27, 2013, Vladimir Putin gave instructions to quickly draft a bill that would improve arbitration proceedings.

Putin noted that the current procedures for resolving commercial disputes in Russia are far from the world’s best practices. “One of the objectives is to increase the authority of the arbitration courts,” he stressed.

The first bill is to resolve two main groups of issues. First, the regulation of arbitral proceedings, requirements for arbitrators, issuance, enforcement and the nullification of arbitral court rulings. Second, the bill oversees the establishment of permanent arbitration courts, their activity, and the minimal requirements for internal documentation and internal organization.

The second bill will amend the following: the Arbitration Procedure Code, the Civil Procedure Code, the Criminal Procedure Code, the Law on International Commercial Courts of Arbitration and a number of other regulations.