A solid oak lectern made at the Tryavna National School of Applied Arts was donated by Bulgaria on Monday to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague. The donation was presented by Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova, who is on an official visit to the Netherlands, to the Court’s Secretary-General Marcin Czepelak.
The special ceremony took place in the historic Peace Palace, which is also home to the International Court of Justice and The Hague Academy of International Law.
Bulgaria is one of the 26 founding states of the Court, as noted by Petrova and Czepelak at the ceremony.
The lectern will become part of the interior of the Peace Palace, and will be displaying Bulgaria’s artistic traditions alongside donations from nearly 40 other countries. Its design combines the logo of the PCA with ornaments inspired by Bulgarian Revival-era woodcarving.
Among the guests at the ceremony were Santiago Villalpando, Registrar of the International Court of Justice; Judge Ekaterina Trendafilova, President of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office; Erik Weststrate, Ambassador for International Organisations at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Orfey Mindov, Director of the Tryavna National High School of Applied Arts.
“International law is not an abstract ideal. It is our common protection against instability, confrontation and the imposition of force. Even the most difficult differences can be resolved through law, dialogue and mutual respect,” Petrova said.
The Minister stressed that, more than 125 years after its establishment, the Permanent Court of Arbitration remains an important pillar of the international legal order and provides mechanisms for the peaceful settlement of disputes. Bulgaria is among the 26 states that established the Court under the 1899 Hague Convention and reaffirms its consistent commitment to peace and the principles of international law.
In his remarks, Czepelak recalled the role of Bulgarian diplomat Dimitar Stanchov, who, together with Konstantin Papadopov, a military attache, represented Bulgaria at the First Hague Peace Conference in 1899, which laid the foundations for the Court. A photograph of the two diplomats at the conference was displayed in the hall where the ceremony took place.
Bulgaria was among the 44 countries that participated in the Second Hague Peace Conference in 1907. The Hague Conventions, a series of important international treaties, laid the foundations of modern international humanitarian law and private international law.
Bulgaria Donates Tryavna School Lectern to Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-10-05 18:51:37
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