Law Applicable in International Commercial Arbitration
Işıl ÖzkanIn this article titled “Law Applicable in International Commercial Arbitration”, different legal rules to be applied to the various elements of arbitration are discussed. The legal capacity to make an arbitration agreement, the eligibility to arbitration in terms of subject matter and law to be applied to the form of the arbitration agreement are amongst those subjects that will be examined. The capacity is subject to the national law of parties and the eligibility to arbitration in terms of subject matter is subject to the law of country in which the award will be recognised and executed. Then the law to be applied to the base will be determined according to whether the parties made a choice of law. If the parties have not chosen a law, the arbitrators can determine the applicable law according to various rules. These rules would be a conflict of law rules of lex arbitri or the proper law of contract. Lex mercatoria is the most applied one among these rules. The will of the parties to resolve according to the general principles of law or according to the usage and practice is sufficient for the arbitrators to apply lex mercatoria. Unlike the law to be applied to the base, the law to be applied to the procedure is generally subject to the place of arbitration law. It would be determined by the arbitrators if the parties did not choose a law. The will of the parties may also play a role. In the case that the parties didn’t choose the rule of law for the procedure, the arbitrator or arbitrators can apply any proper law of contract including institutional rules of procedure like ICC.
Uluslararası Ticari Tahkimde Uygulanacak Hukuk
Işıl Özkan‘’Uluslararası Ticari Tahkimde Uygulanacak Hukuk’’ başlıklı bu makalede tahkimin çeşitli unsurlarına farklı hukuk kurallarının uygulanması prensibinden hareket edilmiştir. Tahkim sözleşmesi yapma ehliyeti, konu bakımından tahkime elverişlilik ve tahkim sözleşmesinin şekline uygulanacak hukuk incelenecek konular arasındadır. Ehliyet tarafların milli hukukuna, konu bakımından elverişlilik ise hakem kararının tanınması ve tenfizi istenilen ülke hukukuna tabidir. Daha sonra esasa uygulanacak hukuk, tarafların hukuk seçimi yapıp yapmadıklarına göre belirlenmiştir. Taraflar bir hukuk seçimi yapmamışlarsa, hakemler uygulanacak hukuku çeşitli kriterlere göre belirleyebilirler. Bu kurallar lex arbitri’nin kanunlar ihtilafı kurallarına göre belirlenen bir devlet hukuku olabileceği gibi akitle en sıkı ilişkili hukuk veya lex mercatoria olabilir. Taraflarca hukukun genel prensiplerinin veya uluslararası ticari adet ve uygulamaların seçilmesi lex mercatoria’nın uygulanması için yeterlidir. Kaldı ki tarafların açık veya zımni bir hukuk seçimi yapmamaları durumunda da hakemler uygun gördükleri bir hukuku (proper law) veya lex mercatoria’yı uygulayabilir. Usule uygulanacak hukuk ise esasa uygulanacak hukuktan farklı olarak genellikle tahkim yeri hukukuna tabidir. Hakemler lex arbitri’nin kanunlar ihtilafı kurallarına göre belirlenen bir devlet hukukunu veya doğrudan seçtikleri bir devlet hukukunu uygulayabilecekleri gibi, ICC vd .kurumsal tahkim kurallarından da sıklıkla yararlanırlar. Tarafların arzusu da bu konuda rol oynar.
In this article, the author seperated arbitration eligibility into two: objective (in terms of subject) and subjective (in terms of person), and determined the law to be applied respectively. Then, the law to be applied to the form was examined, and the validity of the agreement made in an electronic environment was defended. It was clearly stated that the choice made by the parties regarding the law to be applied to the base cannot determine the law to be applied to the procedure. Legal choices are emphasized. It is emphasized that the general principles of law or the choice of lex mercatoria are valid in addition to a national law. The indirect line (voie indirecte) and the direct line rules and the tronc commun rule are included in case the parties do not choose the law.,
The author defended that the subject of law to be applied to the procedure determined the nationality of the arbitral award in Turkish law based on the Law on the Supreme Court of Appeals in 1951, but that it was of secondary importance because the New York Convention was mainly based on the geographical criterion, and the main thing is to determine the nationality according to the place where the decision will be made. This issue is important for the recognition and execution of an award in another country. The author further argues that the arbitrators are not bound by the law of the place of arbitration (lex loci arbitri), the procedure should be freely specified by the arbitral tribunal. The author also included the provisions under the institutional arbitration rules on the section of laws dispute rule. Finally, it is stated that the referees cannot make decisions based ex aequo and bono unless they are expressly authorized by the parties.
The purpose of this article is to determine the law to be applied to international commercial arbitration differently according to various elements of arbitration and to emphasize the geographical criterion which is accepted as essential in the New York Convention rather than the procedural law criterion which is thought to be applied incorrectly in Turkish law. Only then, can Turkey be regarded as an arbitrationfriendly country.
