Implementing Turkish Arbitration in North Macedonia: Statutory Convergence, Institutional Design, and an Incremental Reform Roadmap

The globalization of commerce has increased the importance of effective, predictable, and internationally respected mechanisms for resolving disputes. Arbitration, particularly international arbitration, has become a pivotal and attractive feature of transnational business regulation, given its flexibility, neutrality, and the ability, under widely adopted international treaties, such as the New York Convention of 1958, to gain quick and effective enforcement of arbitral awards. While many countries, including North Macedonia and Türkiye, have modernized their arbitration laws by adopting provisions from the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration, differing levels of institutional development and variations in legal traditions tend to produce significant disparities in arbitration performance and capacity in emerging legal systems (International Arbitration Law No. 4686, 2001, Art. 4). This article considers the potential benefits, as well as possible pitfalls, of selectively borrowing elements of the Turkish arbitration system for application in North Macedonia, suggesting that a progressive process of legal harmonization and gradual institutional development is preferable to wholesale transplantation (New York Convention, 1958, Art. V). The Turkish experience is worthy of close examination, given Türkiye’s unique history of legal development, civil law tradition, and position as a gateway between Europe and Asia, all of which offer promising parallels for the fast-changing market-oriented legal system of North Macedonia. Drawing on comparative law methodology, theories of institutional development, and concepts of policy sequencing, this paper assesses how improvements in arbitration practice and law may contribute to greater court efficiency, foreign direct investment, and regional economic integration in the Western Balkans, ultimately proposing a comprehensive reform strategy based on legal harmonization, institutional education, and professional community building (Law on International Commercial Arbitration, 2006, art. 10).