Civil litigation covers the disputes that arise between private parties: a buyer and a seller, a landlord and a tenant, co-owners of a plot, heirs dividing an estate, a person injured in an accident and the party responsible. We represent claimants and defendants before the Turkish civil courts, and we act for clients living in Türkiye and abroad. This page explains which court hears which case, where a case is filed, when mediation must come first, which time limits apply and how appeals work.
What civil litigation covers
The disputes we handle in the civil courts fall into a few broad groups:
Show the 6 points
- Contract disputes. Unpaid prices, defective goods or works, services not performed, termination of a contract and the damages that follow. A party that does not perform, or does not perform properly, must compensate the resulting loss unless it proves that it was not at fault (TCO Art. 112).
- Damages claims in tort. Losses caused by an unlawful act: traffic and workplace accidents, property damage, injury to reputation. A person who causes damage to another by a culpable and unlawful act must compensate it (TCO Art. 49).
- Real estate. Claims over title, possession, rights of way, unlawful occupation and the termination of co-ownership in shared land. Our real estate practice covers the transactional side; the litigation is handled here.
- Inheritance. The certificate of inheritance, the partition of an estate, challenges to a will and claims among heirs.
- Tenancy and condominium. Rent, eviction and adjustment of rent, and disputes between flat owners and building management (see our condominium and site management page).
- Family matters. Divorce, custody, maintenance and recognition of foreign divorces have their own court and their own rules; we explain them on our family law page.
Disputes between merchants are usually commercial cases and follow the rules on our commercial litigation and arbitration page. Challenges to the administrative acts and actions of public authorities are, as a rule, not civil cases: they go to the administrative courts, as explained on our administrative law page.
Which court hears the case
Choosing the right court is the first procedural question, because a case filed in the wrong court loses time. The general rule and the main exceptions are set out below.
Read the full section
| Court | Typical cases | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Civil court of first instance (asliye hukuk mahkemesi) | Disputes over property rights and personal rights, whatever the amount; all other cases unless a law assigns them elsewhere | HMK Art. 2 |
| Civil court of peace (sulh hukuk mahkemesi) | All tenancy disputes except eviction through enforcement without judgment; partition and termination of co-ownership; cases that only protect possession | HMK Art. 4 |
| Commercial court (asliye ticaret mahkemesi) | Disputes arising from the commercial businesses of both parties, and the cases the Commercial Code treats as commercial whatever the status of the parties | TCC Arts. 4 and 5 |
| Family court | Divorce, custody, maintenance, matrimonial property | Family courts legislation |
| Consumer court | Disputes between consumers and sellers or providers | Law No. 6502 |
| Labour court | Claims between employees and employers, reinstatement | Law No. 7036 |
Where the case is filed
Turkish law decides the international jurisdiction of Turkish courts through its domestic rules on venue (MÖHUK Art. 40). The starting point is the court of the place where the defendant, whether a person or a company, is domiciled on the day the case is filed (HMK Art. 6). Several other courts may also be available:
Show the 5 points
- Contracts. A claim arising from a contract may also be filed where the contract is to be performed (HMK Art. 10).
- Torts. A damages claim may also be filed where the act was committed, where the damage occurred or may occur, or where the injured party is domiciled (HMK Art. 16).
- Defendants without a Turkish domicile. The court of the defendant’s habitual residence in Türkiye is competent; a claim concerning property rights can also be filed where the asset in dispute is located (HMK Art. 9).
- Real estate. Disputes over rights in rem in land, disputes that may change who holds such a right, and disputes over possession of land are heard only by the court where the property is located (HMK Art. 12).
- Inheritance. Partition of the estate, challenges to and reduction of testamentary dispositions and claims among heirs over the administration of the estate are heard only by the court of the deceased’s last domicile (HMK Art. 11).
Merchants and public legal entities may agree in advance on the court that will hear their disputes; unless they agree otherwise, the case can then be filed only there (HMK Art. 17). In contracts with a foreign element, the parties may also agree on a foreign court, within the limits of MÖHUK Art. 47, provided the agreement can be proven by written evidence.
Mediation before the lawsuit
In a growing number of disputes, applying to a mediator is a condition for filing a lawsuit. If the claimant never applied, the case is dismissed on procedural grounds without any further step. If the claimant applied but did not attach the final minutes, the court gives a final period of one week to produce them; if they are not produced, the case is dismissed without the claim being served on the defendant (Law No. 6325, Art. 18/A(2)).
Read the full section
| Dispute | Mediation required | Time the mediator has |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial claims for a sum of money, including actions to set aside an objection, negative declaratory actions and claims for restitution | TCC Art. 5/A(1) | Six weeks, extendable by two (Art. 5/A(2)) |
| Tenancy disputes (except eviction through enforcement without judgment), partition and termination of co-ownership, condominium disputes, neighbour disputes | Law No. 6325, Art. 18/B(1) | Three weeks, extendable by one (Art. 18/A(9)) |
| Disputes before the consumer courts, with the exceptions listed in the article | Law No. 6502, Art. 73/A | Three weeks, extendable by one (Law No. 6325, Art. 18/A(9)) |
| Employee and employer claims under the law or an individual or collective employment contract, and reinstatement (except damages claims arising from workplace accidents and occupational diseases, Art. 3(3)) | Law No. 7036, Art. 3(1) | Three weeks, extendable by one (Art. 3(10)) |
Two rules make mediation less of a burden than it looks. From the application to the mediation office until the final minutes are drawn up, limitation periods are suspended and periods that extinguish the right itself do not run (Law No. 6325, Art. 18/A(15)). And where the parties have an arbitration agreement, the rules on mediation as a precondition do not apply (Art. 18/A(18)). Our guide to mandatory mediation in Turkish law covers the process in more detail.
Time limits
Limitation periods are the most common reason a valid claim is lost. The main periods in the Code of Obligations are:
Show the 3 points
- Ten years for every claim unless the law provides otherwise (TCO Art. 146).
- Five years for rent, interest on capital, wages and other periodic payments; hotel and restaurant bills; claims between partners of a partnership; claims under mandate, commission and agency contracts; and claims under a contract for work, except where the contractor failed to perform through gross fault (TCO Art. 147).
- Two years and ten years for damages in tort: two years from the day the injured party learns of the damage and the person liable, and in any event ten years from the act. If the act is a crime with a longer limitation period under criminal law, that longer period applies (TCO Art. 72).
Other statutes set their own periods for particular claims, so the period is checked for each claim at the outset. Once a case is filed, procedural deadlines take over. The defendant has two weeks from service of the statement of claim to file a defence; if preparing it within that time is very difficult or impossible, the court can grant one extension of up to one month, provided the request is made within the two weeks (HMK Art. 127). In cases under simple procedure, which include those before the civil court of peace, the extension cannot exceed two weeks (HMK Arts. 316 and 317).
Protecting the claim before judgment
A civil case can take a long time, and the subject of the dispute may change in the meantime. The court can grant an interim injunction where a change in the existing situation would make it much harder or impossible to obtain the right, or where delay would cause a disadvantage or serious harm (HMK Art. 389). Typical examples are an order preventing the sale of a disputed property, or an order to stop the payment of a bank guarantee.
Read the full section
Evidence can also be secured before the case begins. The applicant must have a legal interest, which exists where the evidence would otherwise be lost or become much harder to produce (HMK Art. 400). An evidence preservation order is requested from the court that will hear the main case, or from the civil court of peace where the object to be inspected is located or where the witness lives (HMK Art. 401). This is often used for construction defects, damaged goods and properties whose condition will change. For money claims, freezing the debtor’s assets is done through a precautionary attachment under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law.
Foreign parties in Turkish civil courts
Foreign individuals and companies take part in Turkish civil cases on the same procedural footing as Turkish parties, with a few practical differences:
Show the 4 points
- Security for costs. A foreign person or company that files a case, joins a case or starts enforcement proceedings must give the security the court sets to cover the costs and the other side’s losses. The court exempts the claimant on the basis of reciprocity (MÖHUK Art. 48).
- Power of attorney. The lawyer acts on a power of attorney signed at a Turkish consulate, or before a foreign notary with an apostille (or legalisation by the Turkish consulate, in countries that are not party to the Apostille Convention; HMK Art. 224) and a Turkish translation. Our guide to signing a power of attorney in the UK for use in Türkiye shows the steps.
- Language. The proceedings are in Turkish. Foreign-language contracts, invoices and correspondence are filed with a Turkish translation, and we report each step to you in English.
- Serving a Turkish party in a foreign case. If the dispute is being heard abroad, service on a Turkish defendant and taking evidence in Türkiye follow international conventions; see our guides for UK proceedings and US proceedings. A foreign judgment that has already been given is enforced through a separate case, described on our enforcement of foreign judgments page.
Inheritance and real estate cases
Two kinds of civil case come up often for foreign clients with ties to Türkiye. In inheritance matters, the legal heirs obtain a certificate of inheritance from the civil court of peace or a notary (TMK Art. 598); the certificate is then used at the land registry and at banks. A notary cannot issue the certificate where it is requested by foreigners, where issuing it requires a court hearing or where the civil registry records are not sufficient; the application then goes to the civil court of peace (Notaries Law No. 1512, Art. 71/B). If the heirs cannot agree on dividing the estate, the partition case is filed at the court of the deceased’s last domicile (HMK Art. 11). Our guides for heirs in the UK and heirs in Canada cover the cross-border steps.
Read the full section
In real estate matters, disputes over title and possession are heard only at the court where the land is located (HMK Art. 12). When one co-owner wants to end shared ownership and the others do not agree, the case is filed at the civil court of peace (HMK Art. 4), after mediation (Law No. 6325, Art. 18/B). When someone occupies your property without permission, there are two separate claims, one to end the interference and one for compensation for the use; see unlawful occupation of your Turkish property.
Appeals
The Turkish civil system has two levels of appeal. A first-instance judgment can be appealed to the regional court of appeal (istinaf) within two weeks; the period starts when the judgment is served on each party (HMK Art. 345). Final judgments of the regional court that are open to further appeal can be taken to the Court of Cassation within two weeks of service (HMK Art. 361). Whether the second appeal is available depends on the type of case and the amount in dispute. Because the periods are short and run from service, we check service dates for every judgment as soon as it is issued.
Working with us
We take on civil cases for individuals and companies, in Türkiye and abroad. With a power of attorney we review the documents, file the case or the defence, attend the hearings and report each development in English or Turkish, with a short note on what it means. Write to us with a summary of the dispute and the documents you have.
Related practice areas and guides
Show the 7 points
- Commercial Litigation and Arbitration: disputes between businesses before the commercial courts and in arbitration.
- Commercial Debt Collection and Asset Recovery: enforcement proceedings, precautionary attachment and actions to set aside transfers.
- Enforcement Defence and Negative Declaratory Actions: for the party against whom enforcement is started.
- Family Law and Divorce: divorce, custody, maintenance and recognition of foreign divorces.
- Health and Medical Law: compensation claims after medical treatment.
- Administrative Law: cases against decisions of public authorities.
- Legal Matters in Istanbul for Foreign Clients and Companies: courts, procedure and representation in Istanbul.
