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In order for an arbitration agreement to be valid, it shall be in a
written form. The written form requirement is not a condition of proof
but a condition of validity. Pursuant to article 412/3 of the CPC, the
inclusion of the arbitration agreement in a written executed document
or in an exchange of a communications such as letters, telegrams,
telex, fax or transferred into an electronic environment, or the lack of
objections of a respondent in his petition to the petition of claim of a
claimant claiming the existence of a written arbitration agreement is
sufficient. An arbitration agreement will also be deemed validly exe-
cuted in the event of a reference to a document containing an arbitra-
tion clause, so as to make it part of the main agreement. The claim
about the existence of the arbitration agreement gives flexibility to the
condition of written form.
The arbitration agreement must be executed for specific disputes.
Indeed, it must be agreed to refer disputes arising from a specific legal
relationship to arbitration. For instance, arbitration agreements which
foresee referring all disputes which may arise between two parties to
arbitration shall not be valid.
The principle of validity of the arbitration agreement being inde-
pendent from the validity of the main agreement is accepted by the
CPC as well. Pursuant to the “separability doctrine”, the validity of the
arbitration agreement is independent from the validity of the main
agreement in which they are embedded. Therefore, even if the main
agreement is deemed invalid for any reason, the arbitration agreement
shall continue to be valid and binding. This principle is supported by
Article 412/4 of the CPC. Pursuant to the relevant article, objections to
the arbitration agreement stating that the main agreement is not valid
or that the arbitration agreement is regarding a dispute which has not
yet arisen are inadmissible.
Pursuant to Article 413/1 of the CPC, in the event of initiating a
lawsuit before courts regardless of the existence of a valid arbitration
agreement, the respondent shall put forward the fact that the dispute
shall be resolved through arbitration as an initial objection. Pursuant to
Article 116/1/b of the CPC the objection regarding a dispute which
shall be resolved through arbitration is among the initial objections. In
this context, the objection on arbitration shall not be heard if it has
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