The Symposium on Dispute Resolution in Public Procurement Contracts and Recent Developments, organized through the cooperation of the Turkish Arbitration Academy, Ibn Haldun University UCAM, the Public Procurement Authority, and the Istanbul Finance Center, and hosted by Halkbank, was held in three sessions.
The opening speeches of the symposium were delivered by Hasan Ali Kulak, Esq., Director of Law and Public Affairs at the Istanbul Finance Center; Prof. Dr. Yeliz Bozkurt Gümrükçüoğlu, Vice Rector of Ibn Haldun University and Director of UCAM; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eda Manav Özdemir, Head of Department at the Directorate General of Law and Legislation of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye and Member of the Coordination Board of the Turkish Arbitration Academy; and Mehmet Bıçkıcı, Second President of the Public Procurement Authority.
The first session was chaired by Prof. Dr. Melikşah Yasin, Member of the Presidency’s Legal Policies Board. This session addressed the impact of administrative court decisions on public procurement contracts, recent legislative amendments, and the division of jurisdiction in procurement-related disputes. Presentations were delivered by Dr. Hasan Gül, President of the 13th Chamber of the Council of State, on “The Impact of Administrative Court Decisions on Ongoing Contracts”; Ceyhan Çelik, Head of the Regulatory Department of the Public Procurement Authority, on “Recent Legislative Amendments Regarding Public Procurement Contracts”; and Özkan Doğan, Esq., Legal Counsel of TOKİ Istanbul, on “The Distinction Between Administrative and Judicial Jurisdiction in Disputes Arising from Public Procurement Contracts.”
The second session was chaired by Adem Albayrak, Vice President of the Court of Cassation and President of the General Assembly of Civil Chambers of the Court of Cassation. This session examined the applicability of the Turkish Code of Obligations to contracts concluded through public procurement, disputes arising from price differences, and the assignment of public procurement contracts. Prof. Dr. Muzaffer Şeker, Dean of the Faculty of Law at Istanbul Commerce University, addressed “The Scope of Application of the Turkish Code of Obligations in Contracts Concluded Through Public Procurement”; Belkıs Karakaş, Member of the 6th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation, presented on “Disputes Arising from Price Differences”; and Dr. Erdem Bafra, Head of the Department of Legal Services of the Public Procurement Authority, evaluated “The Assignment of Public Procurement Contracts.”
The final session was chaired by Abdullah Yaman, President of the 11th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation. This session focused on the arbitrability of disputes arising from public procurement contracts and the role of the High Technical Board in dispute resolution. Presentations were delivered by Doğan Ağırman, Member of the 6th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation, on “The Arbitrability of Public Procurement Contracts”; Prof. Dr. Ali Yeşilırmak on “Resolution of Disputes Involving Public Authorities Through Arbitration”; and Muhammet Ali Yıldızbakan, Member of the High Technical Board, on “The Role of the High Technical Board in the Resolution of Disputes Arising from Public Procurement Contracts.”
The symposium contributed to a comprehensive examination of recent developments in the resolution of disputes arising from public procurement contracts and strengthened the exchange of knowledge and experience among the judiciary, academia, and practitioners.
