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friendliness of the applicable legislation and the general practice of
courts play an important role.
The International Arbitration Code No. 4686 mainly adopts the
UNCITRAL Model Law on arbitration. Additionally, Civil Procedure
Code No. 6100, which entered into force as recent as October 1, 2011,
also reflects the model law. Turkey is a party to the New York
Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral
Awards of 1958, in addition to other international treaties on arbitra-
tion. In addition to the legislative infrastructure, the recent Turkish
jurisprudence mostly favors arbitration. Notwithstanding, reasons for
overturning enforcement requests of arbitration awards, such as the
time limit for rendering awards and public order, and the lack of coher-
ence between courts and chambers of the Court of Cassation deter-
mining the practice regarding arbitration, still continue to overshadow
the acceptance of Turkey as an arbitration friendly country. The unifi-
cation of jurisprudence favoring arbitration is therefore necessary in
order for the Istanbul Arbitration Center to be an internationally rec-
ognized arbitration institution.
As emphasized in the legislative justification of the Draft Law, the
independence and autonomy of Istanbul Arbitration Center will play a
central role in it being recognized as an international center for arbi-
tration. As briefly explained above, the current composition of bodies
may need to be reconsidered in order to avoid doubts of impartiality
which foreign parties may have when deciding whether or not to refer
their disputes to be resolved before the Istanbul Arbitration Center.
Additionally, expertise in arbitration, constant promotion, consistency
and continuity will be necessary and essential.
Conclusion
International arbitration is increasingly chosen as the dispute reso-
lution mechanism in cross-border transactions. The ICC, AAA, LCIA
and other arbitration institutions are preferred by international actors.
Cost, reliability, independence, choice of arbitrators, expertise, loca-
tion, arbitration-friendliness and many other factors play an important
role in parties referring their disputes to be resolved under the rules of
these arbitration institutions.
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