At the opening of the symposium, the Director of the Dispute Resolution Application and Research Center at Ibn Haldun University and Secretary General of the Turkish Arbitration Academy, Prof. Dr. Yeliz Bozkurt Gümrükçüoğlu; and the Head of the Department of International Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution at the Directorate General of Legal and Legislative Affairs of the Presidential General Secretariat, and a Member of the Coordination Board of the Turkish Arbitration Academy, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eda Manav Özdemir, President of the Ankara Chamber of Commerce Mr Gürsel Baran and Rector of Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University (AYBU), Prof. Dr. Ali Cengiz Köseoğlu made their welcoming speeches.
Following the opening speeches, the symposium continued with three sessions titled “Arbitrability and Arbitration Agreement,” “Arbitral Proceedings and Recent Developments,” and “Annulment of Arbitral Awards.”
The first session “Arbitrability and Arbitration Agreement” was chaired by First Deputy President of the Court of Cassation, Adem Albayrak. Prof. Dr. Ali Cem Budak, a member of the Coordination Board of the Turkish Arbitration Academy and faculty member at Istanbul Commerce University Faculty of Law, and Dr. Cansu Korkmaz, Director of the International Arbitration Application and Research Center at AYBU, addressed the topic “Possible Impacts of German Reforms on Turkish Arbitration Law.” Following this, Prof. Dr. İbrahim Ermenek from the Department of Civil Procedure and Bankruptcy Law at Ankara University Faculty of Law presented his paper titled “Recent Court of Cassation Decisions on Arbitrability and Practical Challenges.” Finally, Prof. Dr. Ersin Erdoğan, faculty member in the Department of Civil Procedure and Bankruptcy Law at AYBU Faculty of Law, informed the audience on “Issues of Legal Capacity and Representation in Arbitration Agreements: What Do the New Regulations Bring?”
Following the break, the second session titled “Arbitral Proceedings and Recent Developments” was chaired by retired faculty member of Ankara University, Prof. Dr. Ejder Yılmaz. The session opened with a presentation by Prof. Dr. Hakan Pekcanıtez, President of the ITOTAM Arbitration Board, who emphasized the effectiveness of the arbitration provisions in the Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) with his topic “Limits of Application of CCP Rules in the Arbitration Process.” Prof. Dr. Murat Atalı, faculty member in the Department of Civil Procedure and Bankruptcy Law at Istanbul University Faculty of Law, presented his paper titled “Provisional Measures in Arbitration: Practical Deadlocks and Proposed Solutions,” in which he referred to recent court decisions and expressed his critiques. Prof. Dr. Ali Yeşilırmak, faculty member in the Department of Civil Procedure and Bankruptcy Law at Ibn Haldun University Faculty of Law and member of the Coordination Board of the Turkish Arbitration Academy, underlined the necessity of establishing and enforcing ethical standards for the advancement of arbitration practice in his presentation titled “Ethical Principles in Arbitration: Global Standards and the Situation in Turkey.” Lastly, Assoc. Prof. Dr. A. Eda Manav Özdemir, Head of the Department of International Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution at the Directorate General of Legal and Legislative Affairs of the Presidential General Secretariat and member of the Coordination Board of the Turkish Arbitration Academy, highlighted the opportunities and risks involved in the use of artificial intelligence in arbitration processes with her presentation titled “Use of Artificial Intelligence in Arbitration Processes: Opportunities and Risks.”
The third and final session, titled “Annulment of Arbitral Awards,” was chaired by Abdullah Yaman, President of the 11th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation.
Prof. Dr. Süha Tanrıver, faculty member in the Department of Civil Procedure and Bankruptcy Law at Çankaya University Faculty of Law, presented his paper titled “Violation of Public Policy and Annulment of Arbitral Awards: Uncertainties in the Code of Civil Procedure,” in which he explained the concept of public policy in light of scholarly doctrine and judicial decisions. Prof. Dr. Musa Aygül, faculty member in the Department of Commercial Law at Selçuk University Faculty of Law, addressed the issue of time limits in arbitration in detail in his presentation titled “Annulment Due to Time Expiry: How Should Arbitrators Manage Time?” Finally, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Belkıs Vural Çelenk, faculty member in the Department of Private International Law and Procedural Law at AYBU Faculty of Law, gave a comparative analysis in her presentation titled “The Swiss Federal Court’s Approach to International Arbitration Awards: Lessons for Turkey,” examining the Swiss perspective.
