Litigation & Arbitration Practices at ELIG Gürkaynak

ELIG Gürkaynak is one of the few Turkish law firms that combines an international legal practice with a solid track-record and knowledge of litigation before Turkish civil and administrative courts.

Except for criminal law matters, ELIG Gürkaynak is well-equipped to handle all types of legal disputes before Turkish courts and report to its clients in English, German or French.

The following types of cases are examples of those handled by ELIG Gürkaynak’s litigation team:

Litigation in General

ELIG Gürkaynak litigation team represents clients in all types of civil cases, including unfair competition cases, real estate disputes, shareholding disputes, bankruptcy and execution proceedings, labor law cases.

Intellectual Property Litigation

ELIG Gürkaynak secures and enforces the intellectual property rights, including trade secrets, of its clients through civil law cases. We have substantial experience in representing clients in Turkish courts of various levels concerning intellectual property infringement cases, and related compensation claims.

Administrative Law Matters

The Turkish State actively participates in markets as a regulator as well as an independent player. The decisions, administrative orders and actions of the State are increasingly subject to judicial review in administrative courts. ELIG Gürkaynak has a high capability in administrative law matters, as its team includes an expert on administrative law with a significant academic background in this field.

Arbitration Related Litigation

ELIG Gürkaynak has experience in actions concerning the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. Furthermore, to the extent all disputes arising from a contract which contains an arbitration clause cannot be resolved through arbitration due to the mandatory provisions, ELIG Gürkaynak has experience in actions concerning the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. Furthermore, to the extent all disputes arising from a contract which contains an arbitration clause cannot be resolved through arbitration due to the mandatory provisions of Turkish law, ELIG Gürkaynak is well able to engage in litigation in tandem with the arbitration proceedings. For example, as a specific form of such parallel litigation, ELIG Gürkaynak is well equipped to handle cases before Turkish courts in relation to obligations of the shareholders under the articles of association simultaneously with arbitration proceedings among the same parties arising from a shareholders' agreement.

Competition Law Related Litigation

ELIG Gürkaynak has significant experience in appealing against the decisions of the Turkish Competition Board in the High State Court both on the merits of a case and for interim measures applications. Furthermore, since the Turkish Competition Law - which is otherwise modeled after the EU competition law regime - includes a "treble damages clause" taken from the US antitrust regime, we represent plaintiffs and defendants in competition law related compensation actions before the Turkish civil courts of all levels.

Arbitration

Together with all legal counseling requirements of clients in the pre-dispute and post-dispute stages, arbitration is one of the fundamental practice areas of ELIG Gürkaynak.

The adoption of the New York Convention of 1958 and the promulgation of the International Arbitration Law of 2001 based on the UNCITRAL Model Law in Turkey constituted a welcome step forward in facilitating the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards. In this new era of arbitration friendly and efficient legal environment, ELIG Gürkaynak has formed a leading arbitration and dispute resolution practice through its cooperation with numerous international law firms.

ELIG Gürkaynak serves its clients not only during the dispute, but also by assuming a preventive role in the early stages of a transaction (e.g. during the negotiation and drafting of contracts). Furthermore, as a law firm that strives for forming efficient and focused arbitration processes and strategies, ELIG Gürkaynak also assists its clients during the final pre-dispute stages where a potential dispute is highly likely.

ELIG Gürkaynak is a member of the ICC Turkish National Committee and the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA).

ELIG Gürkaynak is committed to the continuing legal education of its attorneys and fellow colleagues in this field. ELIG Gürkaynak attorneys regularly attend international conferences on arbitration.