Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

In his speech at the symposium, TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that the segment where the business world comes together the least is the judicial community and thanked Minister Tunç for the organization.

Explaining that with the support of the judicial community, they are endeavoring to spread methods such as arbitration and mediation, which reduce the workload in the judiciary and ensure that justice is administered in a timely manner, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “As TOBB, we say to all employers ‘try to solve the problem by using these first’. In fact, as a nation, we are not foreign to this issue. Centuries ago, our ancestors started practicing this and became a role model for the world. It was solved in the akhi system, which forms the basis of our stock exchange community. Then we forgot about it. The West took it from us and developed it. Now we have just started to discover this ancient value of ours.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu, reminding that they established the “Mediation and Dispute Resolution Center” (TOBBUYUM) within TOBB, said: “Our chambers embraced this issue. They opened centers within their own bodies and made mediation widespread. Today, there are 120 mediation and arbitration centers working under the coordination of harmony within 120 chambers and exchanges in 65 provinces. Approximately 1200 personnel work in these centers. In this way, the use of this system is increasing day by day. To date, nearly 4 million files have been concluded with an agreement in mediation in Türkiye. Since each file has at least two parties, 8 million of our citizens shook hands and reached an agreement without going to court. In fact, the ‘halalization’ that exists in our culture has been achieved. Can you imagine, this is the most sublime part of this work. People come to an agreement by saying goodbye. Normally, when you go to court, the losing side says ‘I have been wronged’. Now the two sides, 8 million people, have come to an agreement in this country. There cannot be a bigger phenomenon than this. Lawsuits that used to take years are now over in days and weeks. In other words, access to justice has also accelerated. Reconciliation was achieved in 70 percent of the incoming files, but 30 percent of them go to the courts. In this way, a great burden on the judiciary has been reduced.”

- Singapore Convention

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that time is the most important capital in commercial life and continued as follows: “Every regulation that will facilitate trade and strengthen the economy and our judicial system is important and valuable for us. In developed economies, 75 percent of commercial disputes are finalized with alternative resolution methods. Only one out of 4 disputes goes to the standard judicial system. Our government has also become a party to the Singapore Convention with a great vision for the development of mediation. We thank them for this. Thus, it has become possible to enforce the settlement agreements signed as a result of mediation without the need for an additional court or arbitral decision. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Ministry of Justice and our General Director Mr. Hakan Öztatar for the development of mediation.”

Explaining that they ensured the widespread use of arbitration, which responds to the needs of commercial life and offers a fast, specialized, flexible and less costly judicial service, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “In the past, foreign direct investment in Türkiye did not exceed 1 billion dollars. We always dreamed of reaching 10 billion dollars. Then our government added arbitration to our national legislation. With the effect of this, the attractiveness of Türkiye increased in the eyes of investors in Türkiye. Incoming foreign direct capital increased from around 800 million dollars to 25 billion dollars. This is how we were able to attract the foreign capital we dreamed of. We were able to reach the average of 10 billion dollars.”

- “We must work for the right to be strong”

Stating that as the business world, they believe that if the law is strong, people’s trust in each other, institutions and the system will increase, Hisarcıklıoğlu said: “In fact, the place of law is very important in our culture and belief. We are a nation that believes that justice is the foundation of property. We want a Türkiye where right makes might, not the opposite. That is why we must maintain the balance of the scales of justice. We must work for the right to be strong. On the other hand, from time to time we encounter a wrong approach. It is not justice to take a stand on one side because ‘one side is weak and the other side is strong’. We want a Türkiye where the right is strong.”

Emphasizing that one of the most important elements of the business and investment environment is the guarantee of contractual obligations, Hisarcıklıoğlu said

“For the market economy to function fully, the state must guarantee the rights of individuals to life, property and free enterprise.

- “The stronger our country and economy will become”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that the accumulation in the expert witness system causes the judicial process to become longer and more costly:

“For this reason, importance should be given to the development of human capital and specialization of our judges. The personal rights of our judicial community should be improved as much as the physical conditions. Independence and impartiality of the judiciary is a prerequisite for ensuring justice. When there is no justice, there is no strong government, especially in a country. It is justice that sustains all these. The scales of justice must weigh correctly, the sword of justice must cut correctly and on time. Then it will strengthen the belief in seeking and obtaining rights, in other words, the trust in the system. The more successful we are in making our legal system healthier, the stronger our country and economy will become. Therefore, as the real sector, we have supported every regulation that will strengthen the judicial system and increase its capacity and effectiveness. We will continue to support it.”

- Justice Minister Tunç

Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç reminded that Adana was also affected by the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş on February 6, and stated that the efforts to heal the wounds of the earthquake and to get the cities back on their feet are continuing unabated. Yılmaz Tunç stated that the judiciary showed great efforts in collecting evidence in the earthquake zones.

Pointing to the importance of the relationship between law and economy, Tunç noted that investors want predictability and that the most prominent feature of the rule of law is the principle of legal security and legal efficiency.

Minister Tunç stated that investors would also want an environment in which they would feel safe and not face arbitrary practices, and that the main pillar on which the economy is based is trust.

Stating that they will continue to develop mediation, Tunç reminded that the compulsory mediation practice in rent, condominium ownership, partnership elimination and neighborhood disputes will start on September 1^st. Yılmaz Tunç reported that an agreement was reached in 70 percent of the files that went to mediation.

Stating that they will endeavor to raise confidence in justice even higher, Tunç said: “The reform process will continue in the sense that the judiciary can function more fairly, effectively and quickly. We are currently preparing a Human Rights Action Plan. We will prepare the Human Rights Action Plan for the Century of Türkiye. We want the Century of Türkiye to be the century of justice. As the Ministry of Justice, we will continue to provide technical support to the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye in legislative arrangements in order to create an environment where legal predictability and legal security can be fully ensured in an effort to further increase confidence in justice.”

- Adana Chamber of Industry President Zeki Kıvanç

Zeki Kıvanç, President of Adana Chamber of Industry, stated that law means trust, production and investment.

Explaining that when the real sector has a sense of confidence, it can take risks more easily and make investments and production, and that this will contribute to the welfare of the country with the employment it will create, Kıvanç said: “The relationship between the judicial system and the business world plays a critical role in strengthening society’s understanding of justice and the rule of law. Business confidence in an effective and fair judicial system is one of the cornerstones of economic growth and sustainable development. It is therefore extremely important that we come together to further strengthen the relationship between the judiciary and the business community and find common solutions. In this symposium, we will discuss current problems in the judicial system, evaluate legislative arrangements and focus on the challenges faced by the business world. At the same time, we will explore how to respond to the needs of the business world by taking into account new developments and create an opportunity to increase mutual understanding.”

- Ministry of Justice General Director of Legal Affairs Hakan Öztatar

Hakan Öztatar, General Director of Legal Affairs of the Ministry of Justice, said that the meeting was organized in order to identify the problems of the business world and develop solutions.

Stating that they took the first step in Adana with the support of Adana Chamber of Industry (ADASO), Öztatar said: “We attach importance to the coming together of the judiciary and the business world with the participation of all parties, the mutual exchange of ideas, the prolongation of judicial processes and the discussion of solutions, the determination of the actions to be taken to increase the use of alternative dispute resolution methods such as mediation and arbitration in legal disputes and the discussion of solution proposals, and the elimination of these in order to identify the problems experienced due to legislation or practice. With this in mind, while creating the symposium program, it was aimed to bring all stakeholders together directly and, more importantly, to ensure that all stakeholders communicate and understand each other by creating an environment where academics who have carried out valuable studies in order to identify the mutual problems of the judiciary and the business world and to find solutions to these problems, as well as law enforcement officers and valuable actors who are the interlocutors of the issue can share their opinions, knowledge and experiences.”