NEWSLETTER-2017

153 ARBITRATION LAW The Effect of the Principle of Separability on Determination of the Law Applicable to Arbitration Agreements - I* Att. Fatih Isik Introduction Due to the principle of autonomy / separability of an arbitration agreement from the underlying contract, the validity of the underlying contract and the arbitration agreement should be evaluated independent of each other 1 . However, it should be analyzed whether this autonomy effects the determination of the applicable law to both agreements. In other words, whether the principle of separability causes the laws that are applicable to the arbitration agreement and to underlying contract to be different 2 . This issue is particularly encountered when an arbitration clause is stipulated under the underlying contract. Under the international commercial agreements, the dispute resolution clause and the choice of law clause are stipulated together. At times, these two choices are regulated in the same sentence, sometimes in different sub-articles of the same article, and sometimes in subsequent articles. However, in such cases, it is unclear whether the choice of law refers also to the arbitration agreement. Consequently, it will be controversial whether * Article of July 2017 1 For separability of an arbitration agreement from the underlying contract, please see. Işık, Fatih, The Separability of an Arbitration Agreement from the Underly- ing Contract, Newsletter July, 2013, http://www.erdem-erdem.av.tr/publications/ law-post/the-separability-of-an-arbitration-clause-from-the-underlying-contrat/ (Access date: 19 July 2017). 2 For more information regarding the topics in this article, doctrine opinions and court decisions, please see Işık, Fatih, Milletlerarası Ticari Tahkimde Tahkim Anlaşması Yapma Yetkisi ve Bu Yetkiye Uygulanacak Hukuk ( Authority to Con- clude Arbitration Agreements and the Applicable Law in International Commer- cial Arbitration ), On İki Levha Yayıncılık, May, 2015, p. 83-97.