414 NEWSLETTER 2021 Enforcement of Settlement Agreements in Turkey Different suggestions have been put forward for the execution of settlement agreements signed as a result of mediation: (i) Since the settlement agreement is a private law contract subject to the law of obligations, its execution can be demanded through litigation, like other contracts. However, in this case, all substantive legal defenses that the parties may put forward within the framework of the law applicable to the contract can be made.2 (ii) The settlement agreement reached as a result of mediation can be accepted as a court decision, that is, a verdict. When the settlement agreement is formally executed, its execution will be in the form of the execution of court decisions. The decision will have consequences in foreign courts in accordance with the recognition/enforcement provisions of foreign decisions.3 (iii) The settlement agreement made during arbitration proceedings can be made into an arbitral award. In this case, the execution of the said arbitral award will take place in accordance with the international arbitration laws of the countries, the New York Convention, or the provisions on the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. When the legal regulations in Turkey are examined, it is clear that settlement agreements made as a result of mediation are accepted as a judgment document. Pursuant toArticle 18(2) of the Law on Mediation in Civil Disputes (“HUAK”), “[…] if the parties reach an agreement at the end of the mediation activity, they may request an annotation regarding the enforceability of this agreement document. If mediation has been applied before the lawsuit is filed, an annotation regarding the enforceability of the agreement may be requested from the magistrate’s court of the place where the mediator works. If mediation is 2 For Sussman, Edna; “The Singapore Convention the Enforcement and Recognition of International Mediated Settlement Agreements” 3 ICC Dispute Resolution Bulletin, No. 42 (2018), p. 46. Please refer to Özel; p. 1192. 3 Özel, p. 1192.
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