Özet:

Online or virtual arbitration hearings are those wherein participants conduct the hearing via a digital platform. Virtual hearings are not a new concept for arbitration proceedings. Due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the global pandemic announcement on March 11, 2020, arbitration institutions took appropriate measures. Many arbitration centers issued a joint declaration seeking to avoid delays in arbitration proceedings themselves and any other related delays. With this declaration, they invited parties and arbitral tribunalsto use existing arbitration rules and case management techniques appropriately to ensure the consistent and predictable continuity of international arbitration during the pandemic, to continue to hear pending cases, and to avoid unnecessary delays in arbitration processes. There is an undeniable connection between virtual hearings and the right to a fair trial. Under Turkish law, within the right to a fair trial, the right to be heard and the principle of equality of the parties are guaranteed by Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights and by Article 36 of the Turkish Constitution. In this context, virtual hearings should be considered in terms of the right to a fair trial. Arbitrators must conduct the proceedings in accordance with the parties’ and concerned others’ right to attend the hearing, the principle of equality, and the parties’ right to be heard. Within this framework, this paper first explains virtual hearingsin general regarding practices of arbitration institutions and then evaluates the effect of virtual hearings on the arbitral award regarding the right to be heard and the principle of equality.

Anahtar Kelimeler: