NEWSLETTER-2019-metin

141 ARBITRATION LAW jurisdiction. This article grants a gatekeeping role to the Secretary General. Unless the Secretary General refers the matter to the Court, jurisdictional issues do not prevent arbitrations from proceeding, and the arbitral tribunal decides, in its sole discretion, either in the final award, or in a separate preliminary award, its findings as to jurisdic- tion. The Secretary General shall not refer the matter to the Court, unless he/she is unclear as to the prima facie jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal. With this authority, the Secretary General’s rendering of a positive decision is the first step as to prima facie jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal. However, the Secretary General is not authorized to render a negative decision with respect to jurisdiction. Article 6(4) regulates the authority of the Court to decide as to jurisdiction, and to what extent the arbitration shall proceed in cases the matter is referred to the Court. If the Court renders a negative deci- sion, the arbitration shall not proceed, and Articles 6(6)-(7) of the ICC Rules will be applicable; otherwise, the arbitration shall proceed. In such case, the Court’s decision is only administrative and temporary, and any arguable questions as to jurisdiction are to be dealt with by the arbitral tribunal (Article 6(5)). What is remarkable in Article 6(4) is that unlike the 1998 ICC Rules, the Court may decide to allow arbitra- tions only for some parties and for some claims, rather than declaring a negative jurisdictional decision for all of the parties and claims. Article 6(4)(i) relates to multi-party arbitrations; whereas, Article 6(4)(ii) sets forth the requirements for multi-contract arbitrations if there are multiple arbitration agreements. It should be underlined that “multiple contracts” and “multiple arbitration agreements” are sepa- rate issues and have different legal effects. Article 6(4)(ii) applies only in cases where there are multiple arbitration agreements. If there are multiple contracts but only one arbitration agreement, only Article 9 applies, and the requirements set forth under Article 6(4)(ii) will not be sought. As a reflection of the competence-competence principle, Article 6(5) states that the arbitral tribunal is the final authority to decide on jurisdictional issues, except in cases where the Court has granted a negative decision that prevents the arbitration from proceeding. As mentioned above, upon the Court’s negative decision as to jurisdiction,