Türkiye’de Deniz Ticareti Tahkim Merkezi Kurulması Üzerine Düşünceler
Bu çalışma Türkiye’de deniz ticareti tahkim merkezi kurulmasına yönelik bir öneri niteliğindedir. Çalışma kapsamında öncelikle deniz ticareti uyuşmazlıkları bakımından Türkiye’de tahkimin faydalı olup olmayacağı ele alınmış ve Türkiye’deki başlıca tahkim merkezleri ile bu merkezlerin deniz ticareti uyuşmazlıklarının çözümü bakımından elverişliliği incelenmiştir. Ardından, deniz ticareti uyuşmazlıklarının çözümünde dünyada en çok tercih edilen tahkim kurum ve/veya kuralları incelenerek Türkiye’de kurulması muhtemel olan deniz ticareti tahkim merkezinin yapısı ile ilgili değerlendirmelerde bulunulmuştur. Çalışmada son olarak tavsiye edilen yapıda bir deniz ticareti tahkim merkezi kurulmasının olası getirilerine yer verilmiştir.
Thoughts on Establishing a Maritime Arbitration Centre in Turkey
This study is a suggestion on the establishment of a maritime arbitration centre in Turkey. In the study, it was first examined whether arbitration would be beneficial in Turkey with regard to maritime disputes. Subsequently, main arbitration centres in Turkey have been examined in terms of their convenience in maritime dispute resolution. Within the scope of this study, the most preferred global arbitration centres and/or arbitration rules for resolution of maritime disputes have also been examined. Afterwards, assessments of the structure of possible maritime arbitration centre in Turkey have been made. Finally, the possible benefits of a maritime arbitration centre established in the suggested structure were explained.
Arbitration is a method of dispute resolution, which has been applied more than the state courts in the resolution of disputes in maritime trade for a long time across the world. On the other hand, maritime dispute resolution in Turkey commonly occurs before the Turkish state courts and not through arbitration. However, according to the statistics of T.R. Ministry of Justice General Directorate of Judicial Records and Statistics, cases of specialized maritime courts are among the longest-standing cases in civil courts. According to the aforementioned statistics, a case of a specialized maritime court will take approximately 3 years, 7 months and 3 days to be concluded, yet it is possible for an arbitration case to be concluded in 6 months. Therefore, the choice of state courts instead of arbitration in maritime disputes can extend the duration of judicial proceedings up to approximately 610%. Thus, it can be seen that popularization of maritime arbitration in Turkey is a necessity. There is no maritime arbitration institution yet in Turkey, and the arbitration institutions that are available in Turkey are not commonly chosen in the resolution of maritime disputes. Maritime disputes can be resolved both by ad hoc arbitration rules and within a body of arbitral institutions. It is known that ad hoc arbitration is more popular than administered arbitration with regard to maritime disputes. Even though maritime arbitration proceedings are generally conducted on an ad hoc basis in places such as London and New York, administered arbitration is more common in other centres like Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Moscow. Furthermore, a global comparison of ad hoc and administered maritime arbitration shows that the number of arbitration institutions is more than the number of associations that have published maritime ad hoc rules. It appears that there is currently a global trend of establishing maritime arbitration institutions. For the aforementioned reasons and because of the fact that arbitration is not sufficiently common in Turkey, it can be seen that establishing a maritime arbitration centre is a necessity. According to the 12th article of the Turkish Union of Chambers and Exchange Commodities along with Chambers and Exchanges Act No. 5174, constitution of arbitral tribunals is among the chamber duties. It is an important fact that awards of arbitral tribunals within administered arbitral institutions that are specified on a sector, have a different effect on tradesman that conduct business in that sector. Sanctions of sector specific arbitral institutions such as circularization and blacklisting play a big role in consentingly taking up of arbitral awards by parties as well. Discounts on administrative costs and arbitrators’ fees are also common at sector specific arbitral institutions. The necessity of establishing a maritime arbitration centre in Turkey can be fulfilled by a maritime arbitration centre that is established within the body of the Chamber of Shipping, in accordance with Turkish Union of Chambers and Exchange Commodities along with the Chambers and Exchanges Act No. 5174. Thus, maritime disputes can be resolved in a fast and cost-efficient manner by expert arbitrators in Turkey. Turkey is an important maritime centre and constitution of a maritime arbitration centre in Turkey within the body of Chamber of Shipping would serve the aim of developing Turkey to be one of the capital centres of maritime law in the future.
