174 NEWSLETTER 2021 Public Policy as Grounds for Refusal of Recognition* Mehveş Erdem Introduction In order to enforce a foreign arbitral award in another country, such foreign arbitral award should be recognized. There are two main legislations applied for the recognition of foreign arbitral awards under Turkish law. One of these is International Private and Civil Procedural Law numbered 5718 (“IPCPL”), and the other one is the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards dated 10.06.1958 (“New York Convention”). As per the provisions of the New York Convention, in order for a foreign arbitral award to be enforced, the dispute should be of a commercial nature pursuant to Turkish law, and the seat should be within the sovereign territory of a member state. If these two conditions are not present, the IPCPL will be applied. The grounds for refusal of recognition that are set forth under the IPCPL and the New York Convention are parallel. Public policy was analyzed under numerous Court of Cassation decisions. This newsletter article will focus on the Court of Cassation’s interpretation of public policy through a selection of decisions, both rendered in enforcement and set aside proceedings. The Concept of Public Policy Article V of the New York Convention and Article 54 of the IPCPL do not define public policy. According to the doctrine, public policy is “the body of institutions and rules that determine the basic structure of a society at a definite period of time in terms of political, social, economic, moral and legal aspects, and protect its fundamental * Article of March, 2021
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