The principle of imperative provisions and mediation as a precondition of litigation in Individual Labor Law

With the Labor Courts Law No. 7036, mediation in individual labor disputes has been regulated as a precondition of litigation. Thus, it has become mandatory to use the mediation path before applying to the court for most individual labor disputes. Making mediation mandatory in individual labor disputes has been seen as an interference with the right to legal remedies and the principle of will and has been criticized in many other ways. Concerns have also been expressed that mediation is not in line with the principle of protection of workers. In this study, the problem of mandatory mediation's compliance with the basic principles of labor law and especially the principle of imperative provisions has been addressed. Therefore, firstly, the principle of imperative provisions in labor law has been studied in details. Afterwards the regulation of mandatory mediation in individual labor disputes has been evaluated. In particular, the issue of whether it is possible to conclude contracts against the imperative provisions of the law at the end of mediation is discussed. Within the scope of the basic principles of labor law, the applicability of mediation in individual labor disputes has been evaluated. Key Words: Mediator, Imperative Provisions, Precondition of Litigation, The Principle of Imperative Provisions, Mandotary Mediation, Labor Courts Code No. 7036