A retired couple from Stuttgart own a flat near Alanya, and one of them has died. A family in Duisburg cannot sell their late father’s house in Konya because the land registry still lists him as the owner. A patient from Hamburg comes home with a failed implant after dental work in Istanbul. A machine builder in Bavaria shipped equipment to a buyer in Bursa, and the invoices are four months overdue. A Rechtsanwalt in Frankfurt has to serve a statement of claim on a company in Ankara.
Each of these has a Turkish side, and that side is handled before a Turkish court, enforcement office, notary, land registry or civil registry, under Turkish procedure. Under a power of attorney the lawyer can take these steps while the client stays in Germany; travel is needed only where the law or a court asks for the client in person. The sections below cover who writes from Germany, the two ways of signing a power of attorney, translation and hearings, the two agreements Germany and Türkiye signed in Ankara in 1929, and seven situations that often come from Germany.
Clients in Germany and the Turkish matters they bring
The people who write from Germany about a Turkish matter fall into a few groups, and each tends to arrive with a different set of papers.
- German citizens who own a flat or a house on the Mediterranean or Aegean coast, in places such as Alanya, Antalya, Side, Didim or Bodrum, or who have had dental, hair, eye or cosmetic treatment in Türkiye. Their questions concern title deeds, inheritance, a contractor or developer who did not finish, or a treatment that went wrong.
- German-Turks, some holding Turkish citizenship, some German citizenship only and some both, whose matters include land or a house inherited in Türkiye, a share of a family property that siblings in two countries cannot agree on, or a Turkish civil registry record that still shows a marriage which ended before a German family court.
- Arabic-speaking residents of Germany with a property, a business partner or an estate in Türkiye.
- German companies: exporters and machine builders with unpaid invoices, businesses with a Turkish distributor, supplier or subsidiary, and lenders or investors with a Turkish counterparty.
- German Rechtsanwälte and Notare who need a Turkish-law step for their own client, such as service of documents, evidence for German proceedings, a Turkish certificate of inheritance, or proceedings before a Turkish court.
Lex Lata works in English and Turkish. Many clients in Germany write in Turkish; others prefer English. Documents in German are translated into Turkish for the Turkish file, and an interpreter is used where a conversation in German is needed.
Authority for your Turkish lawyer: two routes in Germany
Most Turkish proceedings can be run by a lawyer under a power of attorney. In Germany there are two ways to make one.
At a Turkish consulate in Germany
Türkiye has its embassy in Berlin and consulates general in many German cities, among them Berlin, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hannover, Karlsruhe, Cologne, Mainz, Munich, Münster, Nuremberg and Stuttgart. Notarial work abroad is carried out by Turkish consuls (Notaries Law No. 1512, Article 191), so a power of attorney signed at a consulate is a Turkish notarial document. It needs no apostille, because the Apostille Convention does not apply to documents executed by diplomatic or consular agents (Article 1). Appointments are made with the consulate that serves your area of residence.
Before a German notary, then the apostille
The second route is a German notary. A deed made before a notary in Germany is a German public document, and Türkiye accepts it with an apostille instead of legalisation: the Apostille Convention entered into force for Germany on 13 February 1966 and for Türkiye on 29 September 1985, and the apostille is the only formality that may be required to certify the authenticity of the signature, the capacity of the signer and the seal (Articles 1 and 3). Which German authority issues the apostille is set by each Land; for a notarial deed it is usually the president of the regional court (Landgericht) in whose district the notary sits. The deed, the apostille and any German text are then translated into Turkish for use in Türkiye.
Bilingual powers of attorney, German and Turkish side by side, are common and save a step, but the Turkish text must say what Turkish procedure requires.
The powers the text has to spell out
A general authority to conduct litigation does not cover everything. Under HMK Article 74, the lawyer needs special authority, expressly written into the power of attorney, for steps such as settlement, waiver of the claim or of an appeal, accepting the other side’s claim, releasing the other side, arbitration agreements and recourse to alternative dispute resolution. Real estate matters at the land registry need their own wording. For this reason the text is agreed with the Turkish lawyer before you go to the consulate or the notary; a second appointment because one power was left out costs time.
Translation, UYAP and the one or two hours between Germany and Istanbul
Turkish courts work in Turkish. A German judgment, a Familiengericht decision, an Erbschein, a death certificate or a commercial register extract is filed with a Turkish translation, usually made by a sworn translator and notarised in Türkiye. Filings, petitions and evidence go to the courts through UYAP, the electronic system of the Turkish judiciary, so the lawyer can file in a court in Antalya or Konya from the Istanbul office.
Turkish time is UTC+3 throughout the year. Germany is two hours behind in winter and one hour behind in summer. A hearing at 10.00 in Istanbul is 08.00 in Berlin in winter and 09.00 in summer. After each hearing, a dated note sets out what happened, what was filed and when the next step falls, with the time given in both countries.
The two 1929 agreements between Germany and Türkiye
On 28 May 1929, in Ankara, the two states signed a set of agreements. Two of them matter for clients today: Türkiye approved them by Law No. 1622 and Law No. 1634, published in the Official Gazette of 4 and 8 June 1930. MÖHUK Article 1(2) reserves the provisions of international conventions to which Türkiye is a party. The German Federal Foreign Office states that the consular convention, with its estate annex, remains valid between Germany and Türkiye; for the convention on legal relations, whether a given provision can be relied on is checked for each file before it is invoked.
The convention on legal relations in civil and commercial matters
This convention covers court access and cooperation between the courts:
| Article | What it provides |
|---|---|
| 1 | Nationals of each state receive the same legal protection for their persons and property as the other state’s own nationals and have free access to its courts. |
| 2 | A claimant or intervener who is a national of either state and domiciled in one of the two states cannot be required to give security or a deposit for being a foreigner or for having no domicile in the forum state. |
| 3 and 4 | Orders for court fees and costs against such an exempt claimant are made enforceable in the other state free of charge, on a limited check. |
| 5 to 8 | Free legal aid on the same terms as nationals, with rules on the certificate of need. |
| 9 to 11 | Service of judicial documents on request of the consul to the authority named by the receiving state, with a translation. |
| 12 and 13 | Letters of request for evidence or other judicial acts, sent through the consul. |
| 17 | Each state may serve documents directly, through its diplomatic or consular agents, on its own nationals in the other state, without any compulsion. |
Article 2 matters in practice. Turkish law requires foreign claimants and creditors to give security for the costs of the other side (MÖHUK Article 48(1)), and the court exempts them on the basis of reciprocity (Article 48(2)). For a German national domiciled in Germany or Türkiye, the 1929 convention removes security based on being a foreigner. Both states are also parties to the 1954 Hague Convention on Civil Procedure. Whether a German company is covered, and on what basis, is checked on the file.
For service and evidence, the Hague conventions run alongside the 1929 text. The Hague Service Convention has been in force for Türkiye since 28 April 1972 and for Germany since 26 June 1979. Türkiye opposes the Article 10 methods, post included, and allows its own diplomatic and consular agents to serve only its own nationals. The Hague Evidence Convention has applied between the two states since 12 October 2004; Türkiye requires letters of request in Turkish or with a Turkish translation and does not execute requests for pre-trial discovery of documents as known in common law countries.
The convention does not deal with the recognition or enforcement of judgments in general. Apart from costs orders, a German judgment is enforced in Türkiye under the MÖHUK rules described below.
The estate annex to the consular convention
The consular convention signed the same day gives each state’s consuls powers over the estate of their nationals who die in the other state (Article 20), and its annex sets out succession rules that remain in force between the two states. The core of it:
| Paragraph | Rule |
|---|---|
| 14(1) | Succession to movable property follows the law of the state of which the deceased was a national at the time of death. |
| 14(2) | Succession to immovable property follows the law of the state where the property lies, as if the deceased had been a national of that state at death. |
| 15 | Claims to heirship, actions to recover the estate, and disputes over wills and reserved shares are brought before the courts of the deceased’s state for movables and before the courts of the state where the property lies for immovables; the other state recognises these decisions. |
| 16 | A will is valid as to form if it follows the law of the place where it was made or the law of the testator’s state of nationality when it was made. |
| 17 | A certificate on succession issued by the competent authority of the deceased’s state is enough in the other state to prove heirship to the movable estate; certification by that state’s consul or diplomatic representative is enough to establish its validity. |
Two consequences follow for families in Germany. First, a house, flat or plot in Türkiye passes under Turkish law even when everything else follows German law; MÖHUK Article 20(1) reaches the same result for immovables in Türkiye. Second, the estate may split. A Turkish citizen who lived in Germany for decades leaves his savings in a German bank under Turkish law, his flat in Germany under German law, and his house in Türkiye under Turkish law. Dual nationality complicates this, and the nationality that counts under the annex is checked before any application.
Seven situations that often come from Germany
Signing and apostilling in Germany
Most files start here. The consulate route needs no apostille; the notary route needs the apostille of the competent German authority and a Turkish translation. The text names any special power the matter calls for (HMK Article 74).
A judgment from a German court
A German civil judgment that is final under German law can be executed in Türkiye only after a Turkish court grants enforcement (MÖHUK Article 50(1)). The tenfiz action is heard by a court of first instance at the debtor’s domicile or residence in Türkiye, or, failing those, in Ankara, Istanbul or İzmir (Article 51). The court checks the conditions of Article 54(1): reciprocity, the Turkish courts’ exclusive jurisdiction and jurisdiction without a real connection where the defendant objects, public policy, and the defendant’s right to be duly summoned and represented. Reciprocity has to be shown by a treaty, a statutory provision or actual practice in Germany. There is no general treaty, and German law itself makes recognition of foreign judgments depend on reciprocity (ZPO § 328(1) no. 5), so the German provisions and practice are put before the Turkish court in each file. The application is filed with the certified judgment, proof of finality and certified translations (Article 53).
Claims and evidence for German proceedings
A German court or Rechtsanwalt who needs a document served on a person or company in Türkiye uses the Hague Service Convention or the 1929 consular route, with a Turkish translation. Post is not available. Evidence from witnesses or documents in Türkiye is obtained through a letter of request under the Hague Evidence Convention or the 1929 convention, executed by a Turkish court under Turkish procedure.
A German divorce and the Turkish civil register
A divorce granted by a German family court is not visible in the Turkish civil register until it is entered there. Law No. 5490, Article 27/A allows a final divorce decision of a foreign judicial or administrative authority to be registered directly, at a Turkish mission abroad or a civil registry office in Türkiye, if both parties apply together or the Turkish spouse applies alone where the other has died or is a foreigner, the decision was given by the authority competent under German law, it is final, and it is not clearly contrary to Turkish public policy. Where registration is refused for failing these conditions, recognition is sought before a Turkish court under MÖHUK (Article 27/A(3)). Recognition does not require reciprocity (MÖHUK Article 58(1)), and the family court hears it (Law No. 4787, Article 4).
Heirs in Germany, property in Türkiye
The estate annex and MÖHUK Article 20(1) point to Turkish law for immovable property in Türkiye. Statutory heirs obtain a certificate of inheritance from a civil court of peace or a notary (Turkish Civil Code Article 598(1)); heirs appointed by will obtain theirs from the civil court of peace unless the heirs or other legatees object within one month of being notified (Article 598(2)). The title is then transferred at the land registry. Where heirs in two countries cannot agree, the action to end co-ownership is heard by a civil court of peace (HMK Article 4(1)(b)).
After treatment in a Turkish clinic or hospital
Who gave the treatment decides the court. Claims against a private clinic or doctor go to the civil courts; claims arising from a state hospital are full remedy actions in the administrative courts (İYUK Article 2(1)(b)). In the civil courts, a tort claim is time-barred two years after the patient learns of the damage and of the person liable, and in any case ten years after the act (Turkish Code of Obligations Article 72). Medical records are requested early, because the expert reports that decide such cases are based on them.
Invoices unpaid by a Turkish buyer
The CISG applies to a sale of goods between a seller in Germany and a buyer in Türkiye unless the contract excludes it, since both states are contracting states (Article 1(1)(a)). Recovery in Türkiye can start without a judgment: a payment order gives the buyer seven days from service to pay or object (İİK Articles 60 and 62(1)), and a timely objection halts the proceedings (Article 66(1)). A court claim for a commercial money debt can be filed only after an application to a mediator (TTK Article 5/A). Limitation periods are checked at the start; the general periods for commercial debts are covered in the limitation guide.
Questions that belong to German advisers
Lex Lata advises on Turkish law and acts before Turkish authorities. Questions of German law stay with advisers in Germany: whether a German court will recognise a Turkish judgment, an Erbschein application at a German Nachlassgericht, a divorce before a German family court, German company law and any German tax question. For those, a Rechtsanwalt, a Notar or a Steuerberater in Germany is the right person. With your consent, the Turkish and German advisers can exchange information so that the two sides of a matter stay aligned.
How Lex Lata works with clients in Germany
A matter starts with a written message: the facts, the Turkish city involved, copies of the papers from both countries and the date any Turkish document reached you. The lawyer who would act reads it and answers in writing whether Lex Lata can take the matter and how it would be run. The scope, the fee basis and the reporting are fixed in an engagement letter, and the power of attorney is signed in Germany by one of the two routes above. From then on, filings go through UYAP, hearings and registry appointments are attended in Türkiye, and a dated report follows each step.
This page is general information on Turkish law and the Turkish-German agreements. It is not legal advice for a particular matter, which depends on the documents and the facts.
