The Competence-Competence Principle

The Competence-Competence Principle: The Arbitral Tribunal’s Power to Rule on Its Own Jurisdiction and Its Reflections Under Turkish Law

1. Introduction

Arbitration has become increasingly significant, particularly in commercial disputes, due to its consensual nature, the expertise offered by arbitrators, and its ability, in many cases, to provide a faster and more flexible dispute resolution mechanism than state court proceedings. However, the effectiveness of arbitration as a dispute resolution mechanism depends not only on the parties’ willingness to submit their disputes to arbitration, but also on the existence of fundamental structural principles that protect and support that intention. Among these principles, one of the most important is the competence-competence principle, which refers to the authority of an arbitrator or arbitral tribunal to rule on its own jurisdiction.