The United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (“the Singapore Convention on Mediation”) entered into force for Turkey on 11.04.2022. As such, Turkey became the 9th state which is bound by the Convention.
Turkey signed the Singapore Convention on Mediation on 07.09.2019. The law approving the ratification of the Convention was accepted by the Turkish Grand National Assembly on 25.02.2021 and was published in the Official Gazette dated 11.03.2021. The Convention was then ratified by the President on 21.04.2021 through the President’s Decision numbered 3866.
Over the last few years, mediation has become a widespread practice for dispute settlement in Turkey. Due to the implementation of the Law on Mediation in Civil Disputes (the Mediation Law) in 2013, mediation has embarked on a new path. Starting from 2020, mediation became mandatory in commercial disputes before filling a lawsuit in Turkish courts. According to the statistics published by the Turkish Ministry of Justice, between 1 January 2019 and 13 April 2022, 476.030 commercial disputes were submitted to compulsory mediation in Turkey and 52% of them ended in settlement agreement resulting from mediation.
The ratification of the Singapore Convention on Mediation is the latest phase to promote mediation and to render Turkey a center of attraction for international investments. As announced in the Foreign Direct Investment Strategy of Turkey, it is aimed to increase the use of mediation for the resolution of investment disputes encountered by international investors based in Turkey. To this end, it is expected that the ratification of the Convention will facilitate international investors’ investment processes in the country.
In conclusion, the Singapore Convention on Mediation constitutes an important step forward for the effective use of mediation in international commercial disputes. The Convention will also play a significant role for Turkey. It is worth to note that among 55 signatories of the Singapore Convention, the countries such as the United States, China and, Qatar, are one of the Turkey’s biggest trading partners.
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