Originally from Arbitration Law of Turkey: Practice and Procedure

CHAPTER 9

APPLICABLE LAW TO THE ARBITRATION

9.1 DETERMINATION OF THE APPLICABLE LAW TO THE ARBITRATION

The parties are free to determine the procedure applicable to their arbitration and national laws also have a significant impact on arbitral proceedings.

One should note that the law applicable to the arbitration procedure is a different concept to the law applicable to the substance1. When parties are drafting an arbitration agreement, they mostly specify the seat of arbitration. The choice of seat is not a physical choice but rather it is a legal choice that allocates the arbitration law applicable to the arbitration procedure. For instance, if parties choose the seat of the arbitration to be in Turkey but the disptue required that the substantive issues should be decided in accordance with the law of France, the Arbirtration process would be suject ot the national arbitration law of Turkey rather than France. If the parties would like French law to apply to the arbitration the parties may choose the seat of arbitration to be France instead. 

The parties can choose the state in which the arbitration proceedings will be conducted. There can also be many different laws governing the arbitration; the proper law of the contract, lex arbitri, procedural law or the curial law. When parties are drafting an arbitration agreement, they mostly specify the seat of arbitration. The choice of seat is not a physical choice but rather it is a legal choice that allocates the arbitration law applicable to the arbitration procedure. For instance, if parties choose the seat of the arbitration to be in Turkey but the dispute required that the substantive issues should be decided in accordance with the law of France, the Arbitration process would be subject to the national arbitration law of Turkey rather than France. If the parties would like French law to apply to the arbitration the parties may choose the seat of arbitration to be France instead.