Action to set aside the arbitral award according to the International Arbitration Act

Arbitration is an alternative dispute resolution method that in cases accepted as arbitrable, the parties mutually agree to submit the dispute to impartial individuals for the resolution outside the courts and getting a definite, executive and binding award in principle. The matters as the arbitration rules, language of the proceedings, arbitrators and the seat of arbitration can be determined freely by the compromise or later on.In terms of Turkish law, arbitration has been regulated by the International Arbitration Act No: 4686 of 2001. The Government of the Republic of Turkey has become a party to many international agreements about this issue. According to the Article 1, paragraph 2 of the Arbitration Act, the said Act is applicable for the disputes which has a ?foreignness element? in case that the seat of arbitration is in Turkey or when the provisions of the said act is chosen to be applied by the parties or the arbitrators.International arbitration is the arbitration that the dispute itself has a relation with more than one law systems, the situations that at least one foreign law system intervenes to the procedural matters and the process which cannot be bound to any certain law system. As characterizing the arbitral award, the legal regime that the award depends on will be taken into consideration and in case the law that is applied to the arbitral proceeding is lex fori, it will be construed as a domestic arbitral award. On the other hand, in case the legal regime that the award depends on is any other law rather than lex fori, the award will be characterized as a ?foreign? or ?international? arbitral award and will be subjected to recognition and enforcement.As there is a prohibition of review of the arbitral award substantially in terms of the nature of arbitration, setting aside of the award may be claimed only on considerably limited and procedural grounds. The grounds for setting aside an arbitral award has considered restrictively in the said Act. I f the losing party of the arbitral case does not take an action for setting aside of the arbitral award or cannot prevail the action of setting aside, the only way to resist the arbitral award is to set out against the enforcement. In other words, the losing party will have two options to resist the arbitral award as setting aside the award or setting out against the enforcement.Since, the arbitral award is as binding and executive as decisions of the courts, it will not be reviewed at a superior court as a rule. In international practice, it?s not sufficient just to bring an action for setting aside the arbitral award; the award should be set aside by the respective court which held the award or the court to be determined according to the law of the arbitral process. However, Article 15 of International Arbitration Act has adopted another proceeding and stipulated the execution of the arbitral award will take a pause at the motion date of setting aside the arbitral award.Key Words: Arbitration, Compromise, Arbitral Award, Setting aside of the arbitral award, Arbitrable, Foreignness Element, Binding, Executive.