About

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years?

During the last two years, our company has invested in two major investment projects in the air gas market.

From a legal perspective, these projects have included the preparation of gas supply agreements, land usage agreements and joint venture agreements. We have also taken the necessary actions for purchasing the relevant land and obtaining all permits, including those necessary ones for the pre-construction, construction and operation phases.

In relation to litigation, we have been faced with some particular cases including compensation requests and issues in relation to the licensing.

What have been the major external trends that have impacted your team’s work over the past two years (market developments, changing regulatory environment, political events etc.)?

In the air gas sector, mandatory requirements in relation to barcoding implementation have been implemented for the air gas cylinders. Other than this change in the sector, we have reviewed payment clauses under our all agreements based on the effect of the Presidential Decree no. 85 amending the Decree No. 32 on the Protection of the Value of the Turkish Currency

Lastly, the decisions in relation to the sanctions which were implemented by foreign countries have affected our way of work.

What will be the main focus for the company in the next 12 months and how do you intend to assist with this?

The main focus of our company will be developing the increase our way of working (such as optimising the collection of our receivables and increasing the data privacy knowledge and awareness of our employees).

What techniques do you use to provide commercially-focused and optimal business advice to your company? If so, how do you get these across to more junior lawyers in the team?

According to our opinion, the best way to provide commercially-focused and optimal business advice is to work closely with the relevant departments in the company.

By this way, the legal advices will reflect the business and commercial request of the relevant department and this will serve the best purposes of the company.

Does the team use any “legal tech” products and do you find them a helpful management device?

We are using a number of legal tech products. These help to indicate risk, helping with analysis and providing information about such risks. This comprehensive management device enables us to see risk and information about these risks in one document while keeping it updated. Also, we are using a document storage product which has proved to be an extremely useful tool. By using this product, it makes us to easily reach all documents.

In what ways do you see the in-house legal role in evolving in your region over the next few years?

Over the next few years, all in-house legal roles will need to cover data protection matters and compliance as a matter of course, and the scope of this work requires both specific legal knowledge and the willingness to act decisively in this respect.

Accordingly, the independence of in-house legal roles has to increase and the reporting lines of these roles should be re-evaluated since it is not possible to manage such independence and impartial decision authority if in-house roles are reporting to specific departments in the company organisation other the highest ranks.

FOCUS ON: Legal rules standardisation in the Air Gas sector

The regulatory environment of the air gas sector compromises regulations within the jurisdiction of different governmental authorities. In this respect, it is not possible to indicate that there is one regulatory authority which regulates all necessary rules applicable in the air gas sector.

The absence of having one regulatory authority causes a different approach from governmental authorities in relation to the air gas business. Along with this, such different approaches lead to non-standardisation of rules.

As a result of this non-standardisation, each air gas company acts only by considering its own internal company rules for the air gas sector in order to provide services for its customers. This might mean that consumers end up with a low standard of service and a glaring absence of necessary safety precautions.

In this respect, the air gas sector sorely needs harmonisation and standardisation of legal rules in order to achieve a proportional, impartial, effective and consistent approach. A decrease in transaction costs would also result from having the same standards from each market player in the air gas sector.

As for how to achieve this, one approach would be that the standardisation and harmonisation of rules could be commenced with non-binding recommendations from the relevant governmental authorities. Based on the reactions of such non-binding recommendations, binding rules can be implemented.

In addition to the above, having standardised rules for the air gas sector will have a number of other benefits. Among others, it will: continuously improve the legal framework of the market segment based on good industry practice; increase the attraction of investors to the market, taking into consideration of standardised and stable legal environment; decrease the risk interpretation of rules other than the intended aim at the time of enforcement of such rules; and decrease the risks which are associated by taking unnecessary safety precautions which is the one of the most urgent issues in the air gas sector (including industrial and medical gasses).