Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

The “17^th ICC Türkiye Arbitration Day Conference”, organized in cooperation with TOBB and the ICC International Court of Arbitration, bringing together expert arbitrators, legal advisors of public, private sector and chambers of commerce, members of the Court of Cassation, judges, lawyers and academics, has begun.

Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Ayhan Zeytinoğlu noted that the ICC is the largest business organization working to increase trade and investments in the world and said that in the 102 years since its establishment, it has become capable of representing more than 45 million companies and more than 1 billion employees in more than 100 countries.

Stating that the ICC has undertaken many different formations for the development of global trade since its establishment, Zeytinoğlu said, “The Turkish National Committee of the ICC was established in 1934 and operates under TOBB’s roof. The Turkish National Committee, as a strong and well-established national committee, has been putting ICC activities at the service of the Turkish business world for many years.”

Zeytinoğlu noted that the ICC International Court of Arbitration is one of the most important organs of this formation and that the Court is one of the leading centers of the world in terms of resolving international commercial disputes.

- “International direct capital inflows increased thanks to arbitration”

Ayhan Zeytinoğlu, talking about the functioning and organization of the ICC International Court of Arbitration and its importance for the business world, continued as follows:

“The issue of arbitration is important for the business community. Because we want to be secure while establishing our business connections both within the country and between countries. One of the most important elements of the investment environment is the guarantee of contractual obligations. Especially for international investors, the existence of an effective arbitration institution is a must. In the business world, where contracts are diversified, technological transfers gain importance, trade secrets and know-how take companies one step ahead, information is placed in the middle of commercial life. That is why, as the business world, we see arbitration as a very valuable infrastructure and trust mechanism for investment and trade.”

Zeytinoğlu stated that thanks to arbitration, the inflow of direct global investment, which was previously $ 1 billion per year, has increased to over $ 10 billion, stressing that the International Arbitration System is an important guarantee in this respect.

- “We want more space to be given to Turkish lawyers in the appointment of arbitrators”

TOBB Vice President of the Board of Directors Zeytinoğlu stated that 840 new arbitration cases and 157 serial arbitration cases were heard at the International Court of Arbitration in 2021 despite Covid-19, and gave the following information:

“In 2021, cases were filed with a total of 2,200 parties and 1,525 arbitrators. 40 percent of the arbitrators appointed by the ICC Court were women. With 37 parties, Türkiye was among the top 20 countries in this context. In addition, 9 arbitrators were appointed from our country and 3 cases were heard in our country. In this conference, I would like to emphasize that as a good customer of ICC arbitration, we expect and want the ICC to give more space to our country's lawyers in the appointment of arbitrators. We would like to point out that in Türkiye, the regional courts of justice and the Court of Cassation have made very important contributions to the work of the ICC. We thank all the managers of these institutions and expect their constructive attitudes to continue.”

Zeytinoğlu said that as TOBB and ICC Türkiye, they continue to work for the recognition and spread of arbitration and will continue these activities.

- “We understand the needs of the business world”

ICC International Court of Arbitration President Claudia Salomon also spoke about the increase in cross-border trade, saying that global trade, which is on the rise, sometimes brings conflicts.

“The ICC International Court of Arbitration hears cases in dozens of countries to resolve disputes. Arbitration proceedings are taking place in more than 125 cities. Among them are Ankara and İstanbul. The decision is not limited to English, German or Spanish. These decisions are taking place in more than 13 languages,” he said.

Referring to why companies trust the ICC, Salomon made the following evaluations:

“Because it is an organization that is not connected to any region and does not have a political orientation. We understand the needs of business globally. We have many referees from more than 120 countries. Arbitral tribunals perform an extremely fundamental duty. According to the ICC rules, any decision is made to the parties, which is precisely the result of a thorough review by the arbitral tribunal. The reasons need to be clear. Even if the person in charge of the case does not know anything about the matter, he can understand how the arbitration reached this decision when he reads it.”