International Commercial Arbitration in European and Turkish Context

Since international commercial arbitration became a widely accepted and favored method for dispute resolution, many multinational agreements were signed to promote an enhanced and harmonized legal framework. In parallel with these developments, Turkey also signed several major agreements and conventions on international arbitration, however, has not ratified them at the time. Additionally, the country faced problems regarding the subjective arbitrability of concession agreements involving investment in public services. The situation in Turkey improved significantly with the ratification of international arbitration agreements and conventions as well as constitutional and legislation amendments in the 90s. Moreover, the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards was secured by the ratification of the New York Convention and parallel provisions in national legislation. Still, the broad interpretation of the notion of public policy by the Turkish courts led to some unexpected decisions concerning the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in Turkey.