Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that Mersin CCI has added value to Mersin and it was important for the establishment of this center of arbitration and mediation.

“If there is trust, entrepreneurs can see ahead, take risks, invest more, produce and provide employment,” said the TOBB President, stressing the importance of a fair and effective legal system.

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that law has a special place in Turkish culture and belief, “We are a nation that believes that justice is the foundation of property. Defending the rights of the individual, ‘let people live so that the state may live’ principle, came out of these lands.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that if the legal system works well confidence in society will increase, “The more confidence in individuals and institutions, the better and fair the economy. The law is necessary just as water and bread are. Unfortunately, our courts, our judges, are faced with a great deal of work, increasing day by day. The most important problem in the judiciary is the workload. Resolution time becomes longer, quality falls. This makes it difficult for citizens to have access to justice.”

Stating that untimely and inaccurate manifestation of justice erodes confidence in the justice system, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “A judge in Europe looks at an average of 200 cases a year. A judge in our country, 700-800 cases a year. If we assume that it is 250 working days in 1 year, we expect judges to make a verdict 1 cases in the morning, 1 case in the morning, 1 case in the evening and 1 case during overtime without going home. Well, what happens when judges have such a heavy burden? The courts have nearly 7 million files each year. Only 4 million of them reach a verdict that year. 3 million files remain for the next one.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu said that in the last 5 years, resolution time varied between the 250 days and 450 days, and that some courts postponed hearing dates to 6 months later and everyone suffered for it.

“There are also problems in practice,” said the TOBB President, “Nearly 99% of the cases in the Labor Court are against the employer. In this case, does the question not come to mind: Are all the employers, entrepreneurs in this country unfair, all wrong? Is this possible? The right thing to do is give everyone what they deserve. At this point, mediation is the way to go.”

Stating that Turkey is one of the last countries to adopt this system, Hisarcıklıoğlu “Indeed, the idea belongs to Muslim Turks. Akhism lies at the foundation of mediation. When two people could not agree, they would go to Akhi Baba and Ahi Baba would make them come to an understanding. When we abandoned it, advanced economies took it up. For example, 98% of the conflicts in the UK are resolved in this way. Only 2% of cases come to the courts. A court case which would last at least a year can be obtained in 1 day through the mediation system. As the business community, we have been dreaming and wanting for years to have such alternative solutions in our country. Finally, it also entered our legal system. Mediation in worker-employer disputes has become mandatory by this year. I am grateful to the Minister, the Chief of the Department and all our justice organization for this reform.

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that they see the mediation as a fast access to the justice and said, “In the settlement of the disputes between the employer and the employee, workload of our courts will be reduced. The first numbers are already showing them. Since January 2018, 21,000 disputes have gone to mediation, and 68% have come to an agreement. We need to develop and disseminate this system in order to increase the successful agreement rate.”