Protect your investment before the day of dispute.
The protective architecture of an investment: bilateral investment treaties, contractual protections, ICSID/ICC arbitration strategy, and positioning before a dispute begins.
Protection is won when the structure is built
Investment protection is usually associated with arbitration proceedings, yet the real work is done while the investment is being structured: which country it is routed through, which bilateral investment treaty (BIT) umbrella it falls under, and which protective provisions go into the contracts. The safeguards of Law No. 4875 (Turkish Foreign Direct Investment Law) are the local layer of this architecture.
Protection instruments
BITs supply fair and equitable treatment, compensation for expropriation and transfer guarantees. Contracts with the state or with public institutions carry stabilisation and arbitration clauses. Contracts with private parties turn on ICC/ISTAC arbitration and on getting the jurisdiction and governing law right. At the insurance layer, political risk insurance (MIGA and the like) is assessed.
As a dispute approaches
Once administrative decisions, licence revocations or de facto obstruction appear, the wording of correspondence, the building of the documentary record and the notification deadlines all have to be managed from an arbitration perspective. In most files, the early “cooling-off” negotiations are the most productive window for a resolution.
Structure first, remedies ready
The sequence matters. Treaty mapping: before the investment vehicle is fixed, Türkiye's broad network of bilateral investment treaties is reviewed to determine which routing gives the investment real treaty cover. Structure memo: the chosen architecture is documented with its protection rationale. Contract layer: stabilisation, arbitration and governing-law clauses are written into the project documents; for commercial disputes, the framework of the International Arbitration Law No. 4686 and institutional rules are matched to the deal. Readiness: from the first friction — a delayed licence, a de facto obstruction — correspondence is drafted with the arbitration record in mind, and the cooling-off window is used deliberately. Deliverables: the protection memo, the clause set and a dispute-readiness file.
Inbound and outbound investors alike
We are engaged by German and European industrial investors entering Türkiye through greenfield plants or acquisitions, by energy and infrastructure sponsors with long-horizon exposure to regulatory change, and by Turkish groups investing outbound who need the same protection logic in reverse. Türkiye's membership of the ICSID Convention anchors the enforcement side for treaty claims; for award and judgment mobility in commercial matters, the file is designed with our recognition and enforcement practice. Market-entry structuring itself is covered in our Expansion into Türkiye focus.
The legal footing
The instruments of a protection architecture live in international treaties: Türkiye is a party to the ICSID Convention and to the New York Convention, and a broad network of bilateral investment treaties — including a long-standing one with Germany — can open a route to arbitration directly against the state. Where the seat of the arbitration is in Türkiye, the International Arbitration Law (No. 4686) supplies the procedural footing. Whether you can rely on BIT protection depends on the vehicle the investment was made through and the country it was routed from, and the amicable settlement periods in most treaties create mandatory waiting windows before arbitration can be commenced. That is why the date and the content of the notice of dispute matter as much as the case itself.
We are by your side for Investment Protection & Arbitration
We map the protections before the investment is made, write them into the contract set and, where necessary, coordinate the arbitration with international teams. In dealings with the state, our FDI team and the Global Desk work side by side.
Other Applications of This Service
Foreign Direct Investment — our other specialised solutions in this area.
Matter Connections
The focus areas, practice areas, desks and legislation connected with this sub-service.
Our Matters in This Service
The anonymised examples of our work that relate to this service.
Structuring an incentivised manufacturing investment
Management of company formation, the incentive certificate and compliance processes in a greenfield investment.
Review the matter →Market AccessEstablishing a distribution network in Türkiye
Designing a market entry strategy, distributorship agreements and competition compliance.
Review the matter →Advisory · CitizenshipStructuring a citizenship-by-investment application
Structuring a citizenship application via real-estate investment in compliance with the valuation, undertaking, and family-scope conditions.
Review the matter →The Team Delivering This Service
With our multilingual team of lawyers, well-versed in Turkish and German law, we are by your side.
Related Publications
Fresh perspectives and guides from the Knowledge Centre.
The country of the legal entity through which the investment is made determines which treaty applies. Running a treaty scan while the structure is being set up strengthens protection at no cost.
Arbitration is the last step; the real value is that the POSSIBILITY of arbitration creates negotiating leverage. Moreover, third-party funding can remove the cost barrier in strong cases.
BIT protection can apply independently of the contract; moreover, pre-dispute positioning (documentation, notices) increases your options. Have the case analysed early.
Investment Protection & Arbitration — get the right legal support.
Let us identify the right solution together, drawing on our experience in Türkiye and the DACH region.