“Democracy offers alternatives in solving economic disputes such as arbitration and mediation. These procedures are much simpler and quicker and the conflicts are solved definitively,” Head of Parliament Mihai Ghimpu said at the scientific practical conference “Alternative Methods of Solving Economic Disputes” on April 15, Info-Prim Neo reports. The conference was attended by specialists from Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, Bulgaria, Armenia, Azerbaijan and other countries. Dumitru Visterniceanu, the president of the Supreme Council of Magistrates, said the alternative methods of settling disputes are an important element in building a state of law. Dumitru Postovan, the president of the Commercial Arbitration Court under the Chamber of Trade and Industry of Moldova, stressed that Moldova ratified the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards and has qualified specialists in the field. “The companies do not yet go to arbitration as they do not know the advantages of solving conflicts out of court,” Postovan said. The president of the International Arbitration Court of Russia Alexandr Komarov said the culture of arbitration is a very important issue. The arbitration courts' image is worse than that of the courts of law. Igor Pobircenko, the president of the Commercial Arbitration Court of Ukraine, said the alternative methods of settling economic disputes have good prospects. The Court he heads examined 70 economic disputes involving Moldovan businessmen in 2004-2009. More than 1,900 economic disputes were settled in the period overall.