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Jurisdiction Agreement
1
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Att. Süleyman Sevinç
According to Article 9 of the Civil Procedure Code (“CPC”) of 18
June 1927 numbered 1086, which is still in force and which will remain
in force until 1 October 2011, all lawsuits are to be filed in the court
of the domicile of the defendant unless otherwise stated in the Code.
Article 10 of the CPC determines the jurisdiction for conflicts arising
from agreements. Pursuant to this article, the lawsuit will be filed in the
court of the place where the agreement will be enforced or where the
agreement was concluded under the condition that the defendant or its
representative is there at the time of the lawsuit.
On the other hand, pursuant to Article 22 of the CPC, the parties may
agree on jurisdiction of a place which does not have the jurisdiction if the
issue is not concerned with public policy. However, it is not possible to
abrogate the jurisdiction of the general and special competent courts with
a jurisdiction agreement. In this case, the lawsuit may be filed not only in
the competent court according to a jurisdiction agreement but also in the
legally competent court.
The Court of Appeal accepts the aforementioned principles in its
consistent precedents.
According to the Court of Appeal, if the issue is not concerned with
public policy, the parties may agree on jurisdiction by a court which is not
competent regarding certain conflicts to arise between them. However,
if the issue is concerned with public policy, such as rights
in rem
on
immovables or divorce etc., the parties may not conclude a jurisdiction
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Article of March 2011