ERDEM-NEWSLETTER-2018-metin

156 NEWSLETTER 2018 The Effect of the Turkish Language Requirement on the Validity of Arbitration Agreements* Att. Melissa Balikci Introduction The validity of arbitration agreements is vital to their enforce- ments, particularly when one of the parties to the dispute files a lawsuit before a local court. In this instance, the other party who wishes the dispute to be resolved by way of arbitration, objects to the jurisdiction of the local court, and states that the dispute is subject to arbitration under the agreement. The local court then reviews and determines the validity of the arbitration agreement and, if it accepts the objection, refers the parties to arbitration 1 . In cases of an analysis made by Turkish courts, it is noteworthy to mention that the validity of arbitration agreements is subject to very strict requirements. In a not so recent case, the Turkish Court of Cassation declared that a party could not rely on an arbitration agree- ment contained in a contract pursuant to Law numbered 805 on the Mandatory Use of the Turkish Language in Commercial Enterprises (“Law No. 805”) as the clause was not written in Turkish. The case is important as it should be taken as a warning by Turkish parties who wish to arbitrate their disputes, but sign contracts in a language other than Turkish. Legislation Law No. 805 was accepted on 10 April 1926, and entered into force through publication in the Official Gazette dated 22 April 1926 and numbered 353. This Law introduced several obligations on Turk- * Article of October 2018 1 Işık, Fatih : The Applicable Law to the Substance of an Arbitration Agreement, Erdem & Erdem Newsletter, October 2013.