Commercial Litigation & Arbitration

Commercial disputes in Türkiye rarely turn on the merits alone. The forum, the pre-action requirements and the availability of interim relief often shape the outcome as much as the underlying contract. A claim brought in the wrong court, or filed without the mediation step now required for monetary claims, can be dismissed before the substance is ever heard. Understanding this procedural architecture from the outset is therefore central to protecting a commercial position.

Competent court and mandatory mediation

The starting point is subject-matter jurisdiction. Under the Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102 (TCC), Arts. 4-5, disputes classified as commercial are heard by the Commercial Courts of First Instance (Asliye Ticaret Mahkemesi). This category covers, among others, disputes arising from a commercial enterprise, from negotiable instruments and from company law matters. Where no commercial court is established in a locality, the ordinary Civil Courts of First Instance exercise its functions, but the commercial character of the dispute still governs the applicable rules.

Before a monetary claim can be filed, a further step applies. Since 2019, TCC Art. 5/A has made mediation a mandatory precondition to litigation for commercial claims whose subject matter is a sum of money, that is, receivable and compensation claims. The claimant must complete the mediation process and secure the final report; a claim filed without it is rejected on procedural grounds.

A commercial receivable claim filed without completing mandatory mediation will be dismissed without any examination of the merits. The mediation step is not a formality but a condition of admissibility.

For disputes that fall outside this monetary category, the parties may proceed directly to court.

The course of proceedings and appeals

Once litigation begins, it follows the framework of the Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100 (CCP). The process moves through defined stages:

Stage	What happens
Pleadings	Statement of claim, response, reply and rejoinder set the boundaries of the dispute
Preliminary examination	The court checks procedural conditions and clarifies the disputed issues
Evidentiary phase	Documents, expert reports and witness testimony are examined
Judgment	The court renders its decision on the merits

After judgment, Türkiye applies a two-tier review system. The first level is istinaf before the Regional Court of Justice (Bölge Adliye Mahkemesi), which reviews both fact and law and may re-assess the evidence. Where the statutory conditions are met, the decision may then go to the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay) through temyiz, which is confined to questions of law. Each stage carries strict time limits, and the right to appeal is easily lost if the deadline passes.

Interim relief: injunctions and attachment

Litigation and arbitration both take time, and a defendant may dissipate assets in the interim. Turkish law provides two principal protective tools.

An interim injunction (ihtiyati tedbir) under CCP Arts. 389 and following preserves a factual or legal situation where a change would make it significantly harder or impossible to obtain a right, or where delay would cause serious harm. It is directed at the subject of the dispute itself.

A precautionary attachment (ihtiyati haciz) under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law No. 2004 (EBL), Arts. 257 and following freezes the debtor’s assets to secure a due monetary claim. It is a creditor’s tool aimed at preventing the debtor from placing assets beyond reach before enforcement.

In both cases the applicant is generally expected to show a credible claim and a genuine risk, and the court may condition the measure on the provision of security.

Arbitration options

Where the parties have agreed to it, arbitration offers an alternative to the courts, valued for confidentiality, flexibility and, in cross-border matters, a neutral forum.

• Domestic arbitration is governed by CCP Arts. 407-444 and applies to disputes without a foreign element.
• International arbitration, where the dispute carries a foreign element, may fall under the International Arbitration Law No. 4686 (IAL).
• Institutional arbitration is administered by bodies such as ISTAC (the Istanbul Arbitration Centre) and the ICC, each applying its own procedural rules.

The foundation of any arbitration is the arbitration clause. Its drafting determines the seat, the governing procedural rules, the language and, ultimately, whether the resulting award can be enforced. A defective clause can leave a party litigating over the forum itself before the substance is ever reached. The enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in Türkiye, which proceeds within the framework of the New York Convention, is examined in a separate article.

Our approach

We begin every commercial dispute by mapping the procedural landscape: the competent forum, whether mandatory mediation applies, and the exposure that interim relief might address. Where the client’s receivable is at risk, we consider precautionary attachment or an interim injunction at an early stage rather than waiting for judgment.

Throughout litigation we manage the pleadings, evidence and expert process under the Code of Civil Procedure, and we advise on the timing and prospects of appeal. Where a contract contains an arbitration clause, or where the client is negotiating one, we assess the appropriate seat, institution and rules, whether ISTAC, the ICC or a domestic framework. Our role is to align the procedural strategy with the commercial objective, so that the mechanism chosen serves the outcome the client actually needs.