Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

The Singapore Convention's Reflections on Mediation Symposium was held at CVK Park Bosphorus Hotel in Istanbul with the participation of TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarciklioglu, Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Turkish Bar Association President Metin Feyzioglu. At the symposium, the contributions of the contract regarding the development of mediation and its vision for the future and the examples of mediation implementation in the world were discussed.

TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu said in his speech here, 51 countries signed the Singapore Convention, “That number is going to get bigger. Thus, the international trade disputes of Turkish companies operating in the global arena will be brought to a solution.  Our companies will also increase our trade volume by reducing the risks of conflict in international markets.

Different country markets, more easily entered. Likewise, our country will attract more capital investors. On the other hand, when our biggest trading partner, the European Union, adopts the Singapore Convention, our commercial potential for EU countries will be positively affected.”

- Mediation system fast and affordable

As it is a new system, it will take time to use widespread, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, but noted that the mediation system has significant growth potential, thanks to its fact that it is more affordable and faster than standard litigation procedures and even arbitration. "Therefore, mediation can be expected to come to the fore in international platforms over time.

Your views on this issue are also of great importance for our business world and we will follow them soon."

- Law is the pillar of the economy

Hisarcıklıoğlu said that the legal system is a pillar not only of the state but also of the economy, “If the law is strong, people's confidence in each other, institutions and the system increases. If a sense of justice and trust is strong in a country, then that country's economy will be strong.” As a business community, one of the issues they always complain about, due to the excessive file burden, the judicial system is slow functioning, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Our Minister of Justice, Mr. Gul, has undertaken important structural reforms here. It has enabled alternative solutions to be put into action. I used to envy Poland. $10 billion a year, investors would withdraw capital. And if it came to us, it would only be $1 billion. Then we got the arbitration in first. As a result of this, Turkey's appeal to investors has increased. Incoming foreign direct investment has increased. In fact, we as a nation are no strangers to this issue. Centuries ago, our ancestor sat on it. Akhism, which constitutes the basis of our Chamber-Stock Exchange Community, resolved the commercial disputes. Then we forgot about it, and Europe took it from us and improved it. When I first raised this issue almost 15 years ago, I encountered tremendous resistance. Almost everyone was against it. But we continued to tell, defend. And finally, our dream came true. Mr. Abdulhamit Gul was our Minister. Thanks to him, he took care of it. First in business-employer disputes, then in commercial cases, mediation was made mandatory.

The use of the mediation system has increased day by day. In six years, the number of files here has reached 1 million. The number of applications for work life issues, which are important for our business world, has exceeded 800 thousand. And 65-70% of them ended in an agreement. The trials that used to last for years ended in days and weeks. So access to justice has accelerated. It's also a win-win method. Because people have been spared a waste of time and the long process which was financially damaging, while our judicial system has been spared from a significant workload.”

- The sense of justice has been strengthened

Stating that the mediation decreased the grievances and the sense of justice was strengthened, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that mediation also contributed to social peace. "Let me give you one striking example. So far, with mediation, nearly 730,000 cases have been resolved without going to trial. In the judiciary, the number of cases per judge is around 800 per year on average. So, in six years, we've freed 900 of our judges from this burden, 900 fewer courts. Here, all these good results in practice show that the reform is a correct and appropriate step.”

Stating that as the Chamber-Exchange community, they fully support the mediation system Hisarcıklıoğlu, said that they are making great efforts to spread it throughout the business world. TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu noted that they opened Mediation and Arbitration Centers in the chambers and that they established the Dispute Resolution Center within TOBB ETU, and said, “Because this issue is important for both our community and our country. On the other hand, another issue that we have been voicing for a long time, has recently concluded in a positive way. Our Istanbul Arbitration Centre has prepared a new solution model in which mediation and arbitration will be used together in commercial disputes. This will result in commercial disputes without going to court in five months at the latest. That way, our business world will have resolved their disputes faster and cheaper. I also congratulate our ISTAC President Ziya Akıncı and Hakan Öztatar, who is also a member of the Board of Directors of ISTAC, for this innovative step they have developed.”

- Full support from the business world to any regulation that strengthens the judicial system

Reminding that justice is at the heart of the property, Hisarcıklıoğlu said: “There's a saying I like very much, justice is like the polar star. It stays put. Everything else revolves around it. That's why we must maintain the balance of the scales of justice. We must take every step necessary to make it work effectively, quickly and healthily. In this context, we are launching an important first with our Minister soon. We want to increase dialogue and consultation between our business world and our judicial community. So we can understand each other better. We're going to empathize. Our Minister has shown his visionary character here as well. He asked us to hold meetings in the provinces. Thus, we will bring together the business community and the judicial community. There, too, we want to listen to your ideas and make the most of them. As the business community, we believe that. The more successful we are in making our legal system healthier and better, the stronger our country and economy will be. Therefore, the Turkish private sector fully supports every regulation that would strengthen the judiciary, increase its capacity and effectiveness. And we’re going to keep supporting it.”