⚖️ Introduction: Why Procedure Decides a Commercial Dispute in Turkey

A Commercial Litigation Lawyer in Turkey handles business disputes before the specialized Commercial Courts, from contract breaches and debt recovery to shareholder conflicts and the enforcement of foreign judgments, with the rules current as of 2026. The role is procedural before it is adversarial: most monetary commercial claims cannot even be filed until mandatory mediation has failed, and a claim is only as strong as the assets secured behind it. For foreign companies litigating from abroad, the early decisions on jurisdiction, asset protection, and forum shape the outcome far more than anything that happens at the final hearing.

A commercial contract in Turkey is rarely tested while both sides are still cooperating. It is tested the moment one of them stops, and by then the question is no longer what the contract says, but what a Turkish court will let you do about it.

Commercial litigation in Turkey is the resolution of business disputes through the specialized Commercial Courts of First Instance (Asliye Ticaret Mahkemesi), governed primarily by the Turkish Commercial Code (Law No. 6102) and the Code of Civil Procedure (Law No. 6100). It covers contract breaches, debt recovery, shareholder and partnership disputes, unfair competition, agency and distributorship conflicts, banking and insurance claims, and the enforcement of commercial judgments. As of 2026, most monetary commercial claims cannot be filed at all until the parties have first completed mandatory commercial mediation, a procedural precondition without which a judge will dismiss the case before reading a single piece of evidence.

That single fact reorders how a foreign company should think about a dispute in Turkey. The instinct is to ask who is right. The more useful question, the one experienced commercial litigation lawyers ask first, is what can be secured, in what order, and before the other side knows you are coming.

Foreign companies that reach this point usually ask the same thing first. What can a company actually do the moment a Turkish counterparty breaches a contract? The decisive step often comes before the lawsuit exists at all. Under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law (Law No. 2004), a creditor can freeze the debtor’s bank accounts through a provisional attachment before the main claim is even filed, so the dispute is frequently shaped before it is formally begun.

The second question follows from the first. Which protects a foreign creditor more, the strength of the claim or the speed of it? Strength and speed are not the same, and speed usually decides the outcome. A claim that is legally unanswerable can still recover nothing if the debtor moves its money during the years litigation takes, which is why the best-documented case can become the emptiest judgment unless the assets are secured first.

This page is written for the foreign company, investor, and creditor who has reached that point: a Turkish counterparty has breached an agreement, a foreign judgment needs to be collected here, or a local majority is quietly pushing a minority shareholder out. The legal system is structured and procedural. Used early, that structure protects you. Discovered late, it protects the other side.

Our commercial litigation lawyers in Istanbul handle cross-border disputes for clients who are rarely in the country and often have never set foot in a Turkish courtroom. The sections below map the entire path, from the mandatory mediation gate to the enforcement office where a judgment finally turns into money.

⚖️ When is a dispute “commercial” in Turkey, and which court decides it?

A dispute is commercial in Turkey when it arises from a commercial transaction or concerns a matter the Turkish Commercial Code (Law No. 6102) defines as commercial, and in most cases it is heard not by a general civil court but by the specialized Commercial Court of First Instance (Asliye Ticaret Mahkemesi). The distinction is not cosmetic. Filing in the wrong court does not lose you the case on the merits, but it can cost months while the file is transferred to the right venue.

In practice, three categories fall squarely inside commercial jurisdiction. The first is any dispute where both parties are registered merchants and the matter relates to their commercial enterprise. The second is a list of subjects the Code treats as commercial regardless of who the parties are, including company law, negotiable instruments, maritime trade, insurance, and intellectual property in a commercial context. The third is anything a specific statute routes to the commercial courts.

Where foreign clients lose time is the grey zone. A loan between a company and an individual, a real estate transaction, or a consumer-facing claim may look commercial because a business is involved, yet land in a general civil court (Asliye Hukuk Mahkemesi) or a consumer court instead. A useful test: if the relationship is between two businesses acting as businesses, it is almost certainly commercial. If one side is acting privately, the classification needs a closer look before anything is filed. Getting this right at the outset is the first thing a commercial litigation lawyer in Turkey does, because it determines the court, the procedure, and in monetary claims whether mediation is mandatory before filing.

⚖️ Can you protect your claim before the lawsuit even begins?

Yes. In Turkey you can freeze a debtor’s bank accounts and assets through a provisional attachment (ihtiyati haciz) before you file the main lawsuit, and crucially, the court can grant it without notifying the other side first. This is the single most important thing a foreign creditor needs to understand, because it answers the fear that surfaces in almost every cross-border commercial dispute: the moment the counterparty senses litigation, money starts moving.

The concern is real and it has a specific trigger. Once a claimant sends the mandatory mediation notice, the other side knows a claim is coming. A sophisticated debtor can use that window to empty accounts and transfer real estate to relatives. The defense is to move on the assets before, or in parallel with, that signal. A provisional attachment under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law (Law No. 2004) is requested directly from the court, decided on the documents, and executed quickly enough that the debtor often learns of it only when the bank account is already blocked.

This protection is not free. To prevent abuse, Turkish courts generally require the claimant to deposit security, typically around 15 percent of the claimed amount as of 2026, though the exact figure sits within the court’s discretion and can vary with the strength of the documentary evidence. That deposit is returned once the case concludes. The practical consequence is a sequencing decision that has to be made early: secure the assets first and litigate second, not the other way around. By the time a foreign company has finished deliberating across time zones, the window has often closed. Setting that sequence correctly, attachment first and lawsuit second, is one of the first instructions a commercial litigation lawyer gives a new client.

This is why foreign creditors increasingly ask one practical question before anything else. How does a foreign company make sure a Turkish judgment will actually be collectable? The answer is settled at the start of the case, not at the end. If a provisional attachment freezes identified assets before the debtor reacts, there is something concrete to execute against once judgment arrives. If no protective step is taken, the debtor can move value out of reach during the years the case runs, and even a won judgment stays unenforceable in practice.

⚖️ Where foreign parties feel the ground shift

Most foreign companies do not lose commercial cases in Turkey because the law is against them. They lose momentum, and sometimes the case, because the procedure works in ways their home system does not. Four features tend to catch them off guard, and a Commercial Litigation Lawyer in Turkey earns a large part of their value simply by managing these before they become problems.

The first is the foreigner’s security deposit. Under Article 84 of the Code of Civil Procedure, a foreign claimant bringing a case in Turkey must usually post security to cover the defendant’s potential costs and damages, unless an exemption applies through a treaty or established reciprocity between the two countries. For a claimant from a country with such reciprocity, the deposit can be waived; for others, it is real money parked in a Turkish court account for the duration. Knowing in advance which category you fall into changes the budget for the entire dispute.

The second is language. Every contract, email, message, and document submitted as evidence must be officially translated and, where required, notarized. The risk foreign clients feel here is genuine: the nuance of a technical or commercial argument can be flattened by a general court translator who does not understand the industry. Controlling the translation, rather than leaving it to chance, is part of building the case. A commercial litigation lawyer manages that translation directly instead of leaving an industry-specific argument to a general court translator.

The third is the absence of broad discovery. There is no US or UK style pre-trial disclosure where you compel the other side to hand over documents. You build your case on the evidence you can gather yourself, and you submit the core of it at the very start. Holding back a decisive document for a dramatic later moment is not a strategy that works here.

The fourth, and the one that surprises clients most, is the role of the court-appointed expert (bilirkişi). On technical questions, accounting, engineering, valuation, the judge does not decide alone. The judge appoints an independent expert panel whose written report often shapes the verdict. Winning frequently comes down to whether your commercial litigation lawyer can defend a favorable report or successfully challenge an unfavorable one. The expert is not your opponent’s witness or yours; the expert is the court’s, and that changes how the fight is run.

⚖️ The mandatory commercial mediation gate

For most commercial disputes involving a monetary or compensation claim, mediation is a mandatory precondition to filing suit, not an optional alternative. Introduced for commercial matters with effect from the start of 2019, this requirement means a claimant must first apply to a mediator and obtain a final report recording that the parties failed to settle. Without that report attached to the petition, the commercial court dismisses the case on procedural grounds, regardless of how strong the underlying claim is.

The process is relatively fast by litigation standards, usually concluding within roughly six to eight weeks. A mediator is assigned, sessions are held, and the matter either settles or is certified as unresolved. If it settles, the agreement is enforceable like a court judgment, which for the right dispute is a genuine result rather than a hurdle. If it does not, the claimant receives the report and the courthouse door opens.

For a foreign claimant, the gate has two strategic consequences. It signals the dispute to the other side, which is exactly why asset protection should be considered first. And it imposes a short, fixed delay that should be used productively: assembling translated evidence, confirming jurisdiction, and preparing the petition so that the day the mediation fails, the lawsuit and any interim measures are ready to move without further delay. A commercial litigation lawyer treats these weeks as preparation time rather than dead time, which is often what separates a claimant who files cleanly from one who scrambles.

⚖️ Interim measures and asset protection

Interim relief is where commercial litigation is often quietly decided, long before judgment. It comes in two main forms, and choosing the right one depends on what you are trying to protect. A provisional attachment (ihtiyati haciz) freezes a debtor’s money and assets to secure a monetary claim. A preliminary injunction (ihtiyati tedbir) under the Code of Civil Procedure preserves a factual or legal situation, for example stopping a share transfer, blocking the use of a disputed trademark, or preventing the registration of a contested corporate resolution.

Both share the same logic: litigation takes years, and a judgment is worthless if there is nothing left to enforce it against. Both are decided quickly and, where justified, without prior notice to the respondent, which is what gives them their force. And both generally require the applicant to post security, with the court setting the amount in its discretion, commonly in the region of 15 percent of the claim for an attachment as of 2026.

The decision matters most in three situations. When a debtor has liquid, movable assets that can disappear overnight, attachment is urgent. When the dispute concerns control of a company or an asset rather than a sum of money, an injunction is the tool. And when both are in play, for example a shareholder dispute with a parallel monetary claim, the two can be combined. A commercial litigation lawyer assesses which measure fits, what evidence the court will need to grant it, and how to time the application so the protective order lands before the counterparty reacts.

⚖️ How a commercial lawsuit actually proceeds

Turkish commercial litigation is primarily a written process. The drama, where there is any, lives in the briefs and the expert reports, not in oral cross-examination. Understanding the sequence helps a foreign client see where the case is actually won or lost.

It begins with the petition, the statement of claim, which must set out the legal basis and the core evidence. The defendant answers, the claimant replies, and the defendant responds again: a fixed exchange of written pleadings. Because there is no broad discovery, each side is expected to bring its documentary evidence forward early rather than extract it from the opponent later. Witnesses exist but play a far smaller role than in common law systems.

The written exchange runs on short, fixed deadlines: the defendant generally has two weeks to answer the statement of claim, with the reply and rejoinder following on comparable two-week terms. Once the pleadings close, the court holds a preliminary hearing (ön inceleme), a procedural checkpoint where it confirms the mediation report is attached, settles whether the foreigner’s security is required, and fixes the precise points in dispute before the examination phase begins.

The pivotal stage is the expert examination. On any matter requiring technical knowledge, the court appoints one or more independent experts to review the documents, the accounts, or the disputed work and to deliver a written report. In a commercial dispute this report is frequently decisive. The parties may object to it, request clarification, or ask for a new panel, and a significant part of skilled commercial litigation is the disciplined challenge to a flawed report or the defense of a sound one. This is where a commercial litigation lawyer does the work that decides the case, drafting the technical objections that persuade the court to revise or replace a report. A favorable expert report, properly secured, often settles the outcome before judgment.

After the expert phase and final written submissions, the court issues its judgment. At the end, the court first announces a short decision (kısa karar) and issues the fully reasoned judgment (gerekçeli karar) some weeks later. This matters for timing, because the period to appeal runs from notification of the reasoned judgment, not from the day the result is read out. That judgment, however, is rarely the end, because the losing party almost always has a right to appeal, which is the subject the timing section below addresses in detail.

⚖️ Litigation or arbitration: choosing the forum

If a contract contains a valid arbitration clause, the state courts will decline to hear the dispute, and the matter goes to arbitration instead. Increasingly, commercial contracts in Turkey route disputes to the Istanbul Arbitration Centre, known as ISTAC, established in 2015, or to international institutions such as the ICC. The choice between state court litigation and arbitration is one of the most consequential decisions a party makes, and ideally it is made when the contract is drafted, not after the dispute arises.

The two paths trade different advantages. Arbitration offers confidentiality, the ability to choose arbitrators with relevant commercial expertise, and awards that are readily enforceable across borders under the New York Convention. State court litigation offers a public, lower-cost forum with a structured appeal system and the full weight of state enforcement behind its judgments. Neither is universally better; the right forum depends on the counterparty, the value, the need for confidentiality, and where the assets sit.

Factor	State Court Litigation	Arbitration (e.g. ISTAC)
Confidentiality	Public proceedings	Private and confidential
Decision-maker	Assigned judge plus court-appointed experts	Arbitrators chosen by the parties
Typical timeline	2 to 4 years including appeals	Often 1 to 2 years, single instance
Appeal	Regional appellate court, then Court of Cassation	Limited grounds to set aside only
Cross-border enforcement	Depends on reciprocity and treaties	Strong, via New York Convention
Cost	Lower court fees	Higher institutional and arbitrator fees

One practical warning recurs in cross-border matters: a poorly drafted arbitration clause can be worse than none at all, producing years of fighting over whether the clause is valid before anyone reaches the actual dispute. Whether you are enforcing or resisting an arbitration clause, the analysis belongs at the start of the case. A commercial litigation lawyer reads that clause before anything else, because its validity decides which forum is even open to you.

⚖️ Enforcing foreign judgments and arbitral awards in Turkey

A foreign court judgment or arbitral award does not take effect in Turkey automatically; it must first be recognized and granted enforcement (tenfiz) by a Turkish court before it can be executed against assets here. This is governed by the Act on Private International and Procedural Law (Law No. 5718), and for foreign arbitral awards by the New York Convention, to which Turkey is a party. For the foreign claimant who has already won abroad, this is the moment the fight unexpectedly reopens, and it is the area where careful local strategy matters most.

There is an old principle that above the courts of any single state sits a body of law that binds them to honor one another’s decisions. Turkish law accepts that principle, but it conditions it, and the conditions are where disputes are won or lost. Three recurring obstacles deserve attention.

The first is public policy. A Turkish defendant will frequently argue that recognizing the foreign decision would violate Turkish public order (kamu düzeni), hoping the judge will use that elastic concept to reexamine the merits. A well-prepared enforcement case confines this argument to its proper, narrow scope rather than letting it become a retrial. A commercial litigation lawyer who has handled recognition cases knows how Turkish courts draw that line, which is the difference between a confirmation hearing and a fresh trial on the merits. The second, which applies to foreign court judgments rather than arbitral awards, is reciprocity: Turkish courts will recognize a judgment from a country that would recognize Turkish judgments in return, whether by treaty, statute, or actual practice. Where reciprocity is contested, the case can turn on proving how the foreign jurisdiction treats Turkish judgments. The third is proper service: if the original defendant was not duly served in the foreign proceedings through the correct channels, that defect alone can defeat recognition.

Reciprocity is where this most often stalls in practice. Turkey has no bilateral enforcement treaty with several major common-law partners, including the United States and the United Kingdom, so a claimant from those jurisdictions must establish de facto reciprocity by showing that their courts have in practice recognized Turkish judgments. Where the debtor disputes this, the case can turn entirely on proving how those courts have actually treated Turkish decisions.

A particular trap catches common-law judgments. Turkish judgments must contain explicit legal reasoning, so a brief summary or default judgment that simply records who owes what can be attacked as contrary to Turkish public policy for lacking reasons. Higher courts have resisted rejecting such judgments categorically, but the argument still produces real delay, which is why the reasoning behind a foreign judgment matters as much as its result when enforcement in Turkey is the goal.

It also helps to budget the recognition action as a second lawsuit rather than an administrative step. Because it is filed in a Turkish commercial court, it carries the same procedure and the same appeal routes and can add a year or more before there is an enforceable Turkish judgment to execute against, which is the practical reason to pair it with provisional attachment over local assets from the outset.

The strategic takeaway for a foreign winner is to plan enforcement before, not after, the foreign case concludes, and to pair the recognition action with provisional attachment over Turkish assets, so the debtor cannot quietly empty the local entity during the months recognition takes. For the structuring side of cross-border deals that often precedes such disputes, our corporate lawyers in Turkey work alongside the litigation team.

⚖️ Shareholder and partnership disputes

Shareholder disputes are among the most common and most personal forms of commercial litigation in Turkey, and the Turkish Commercial Code gives a minority shareholder real, if often underused, tools against a controlling majority. The typical pattern is familiar to foreign investors: financial reports stop arriving, board meetings happen without notice, dividends are never declared while the company funds the majority’s lifestyle, and a sudden capital increase threatens to dilute the outsider to irrelevance.

Against this, the Code offers several remedies. A shareholder can demand information and, where grounds exist, petition the court to appoint a special auditor to examine the company’s affairs, opening the books the majority has kept closed. Resolutions of the general assembly that violate the law, the articles of association, or good faith can be challenged and annulled, and a court may, through interim measures, suspend a contested resolution while that challenge proceeds, which is critical when a dilutive capital increase is in motion. In the most serious cases, a shareholder holding a sufficient stake can seek the dissolution of the company for just cause, and the court has the power to order, instead of dissolution, that the departing shareholder’s shares be bought out at a value the court determines: an exit at a fair price rather than a forced surrender.

One practical detail decides how much leverage a shareholder holds. The law treats a holder of at least 10 percent of the shares in a private company, or 5 percent in a publicly traded one, as a minority with specific statutory powers: the right to force the board to call an extraordinary general assembly, to add items to its agenda, and to block the routine release of board members from liability. Each of these becomes leverage in a squeeze-out.

Against a dilutive capital increase, the first shield is the shareholder’s pre-emptive right (rüçhan hakkı) to subscribe to new shares in proportion to an existing holding. The majority cannot strip that right without a justified reason and a qualified majority vote, and a capital increase engineered purely to crush a minority’s stake rather than to meet a genuine corporate need can be challenged as an abuse of right (hakkın kötüye kullanılması) and annulled.

The practical question a squeezed-out investor asks is whether suing to cancel a dilutive resolution freezes the dilution or lets it proceed while the trial drags on. The answer is that it does not freeze automatically; protection comes from a properly framed interim measure requested alongside the main action. A commercial litigation lawyer files the two together for exactly this reason, since an annulment won years later is hollow if the dilution has already completed. That is why these disputes are won or lost in the first weeks, not in the final hearing.

⚖️ Turning a judgment into money

Winning a commercial lawsuit in Turkey produces a court decree, which is a document, not a payment. To actually collect, a creditor must open formal enforcement proceedings (icra takibi) through the local enforcement office under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law (Law No. 2004). This is a distinct phase with its own procedure, and foreign clients are often surprised that the litigation they thought was finished has, in a sense, only changed shape.

Enforcement is where the earlier decisions about asset protection pay off or come back to haunt you. If a provisional attachment was secured at the outset, there are identified assets to execute against: blocked bank accounts, registered real estate, vehicles, receivables, or company assets that can be seized and liquidated to satisfy the debt. If no protective step was taken and the debtor has spent the intervening years moving value out of reach, the decree may be unenforceable in practice. This is the structural reason commercial litigation lawyers treat enforcement strategy as something to plan at the beginning of a case, not at the end.

Enforcement also has its own friction. A debtor can object, raise procedural challenges, or seek to delay execution, and a skilled commercial litigation lawyer anticipates these moves rather than reacting to them. A debt is recovered, not awarded.

⚖️ How long it takes and what it costs

A contested commercial dispute in Turkey commonly takes two to four years to reach a final, enforceable judgment as of 2026, driven largely by the multi-tiered appeal system. The first instance commercial court issues a judgment, but the losing party can appeal to the Regional Court of Appeal (İstinaf) and, on points of law, to the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay). Each layer adds time, and a judgment is not legally final, or safely enforceable, until those rights are exhausted or expire.

On cost, three components recur. Court fees and expenses are relatively modest compared with common law systems and are calculated largely as a proportion of the claim. The foreigner’s security deposit under Article 84 of the Code of Civil Procedure, where it applies, can tie up significant cash for the duration unless an exemption through reciprocity removes it. And security for interim measures, commonly around 15 percent of the claim for a provisional attachment, is a further sum held and later returned. A commercial litigation lawyer maps this exposure at the outset, so the foreigner’s deposit and the attachment security are budgeted from the start rather than discovered mid-case. Arbitration shifts this profile: lower court fees disappear, but institutional and arbitrator fees are higher, often justified by speed and confidentiality.

The honest framing for a foreign client is this: the timeline is long, but much of the real protection, and much of the cost, is front-loaded. Decisions made in the first month about forum, jurisdiction, and asset protection shape the entire arc of the case far more than anything that happens in year three. This is the single reason a Commercial Litigation Lawyer in Turkey is engaged early rather than after the dispute has hardened.

⚖️ How long it takes and what it costs

A contested commercial dispute in Turkey commonly takes two to four years to reach a final, enforceable judgment as of 2026, driven largely by the multi-tiered appeal system. The first instance commercial court issues a judgment, but the losing party can appeal to the Regional Court of Appeal (İstinaf) and, on points of law, to the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay). Each layer adds time, and a judgment is not legally final, or safely enforceable, until those rights are exhausted or expire.

On cost, three components recur. Court fees and expenses are relatively modest compared with common law systems and are calculated largely as a proportion of the claim. The foreigner’s security deposit under Article 84 of the Code of Civil Procedure, where it applies, can tie up significant cash for the duration unless an exemption through reciprocity removes it. And security for interim measures, commonly around 15 percent of the claim for a provisional attachment, is a further sum held and later returned. A commercial litigation lawyer maps this exposure at the outset, so the foreigner’s deposit and the attachment security are budgeted from the start rather than discovered mid-case.

For monetary claims the court fee is proportional to the amount in dispute, and a quarter of it is payable in cash when the case is filed, as of 2026. For a large claim that upfront quarter alone can be substantial, which is part of what a foreign claimant should budget before filing rather than discover at the courthouse.

Arbitration shifts this profile: lower court fees disappear, but institutional and arbitrator fees are higher, often justified by speed and confidentiality.

The honest framing for a foreign client is this: the timeline is long, but much of the real protection, and much of the cost, is front-loaded. Decisions made in the first month about forum, jurisdiction, and asset protection shape the entire arc of the case far more than anything that happens in year three. This is the single reason a Commercial Litigation Lawyer in Turkey is engaged early rather than after the dispute has hardened.

⚖️ Working with a Commercial Litigation Lawyer in Turkey from abroad

A foreign client does not need to be in Turkey to litigate here. With a properly drafted and notarized power of attorney, a Commercial Litigation Lawyer in Turkey can file the case, attend hearings, manage the expert process, request interim measures, and conduct enforcement, all without the client setting foot in the country. For clients who run businesses in other time zones, this is usually the decisive practical point.

The power of attorney is the foundation. It is prepared to cover litigation and enforcement powers specifically, executed before a notary, and where signed abroad, apostilled or consularized so it is valid in Turkey. From that point, the relationship runs on documents and remote communication: evidence is gathered and translated, the strategy is agreed, and the client is updated at the decision points that matter rather than buried in procedural noise. Clear communication across languages is part of the work, which is why clients often value an English-speaking lawyer who can explain a Turkish expert report or an enforcement option without distortion. Where the dispute traces back to a contract, that same continuity extends to the drafting stage handled by our Turkish contract lawyers, so the agreement and any later litigation are read by the same eyes.

❓ Frequently asked questions

✅ Do I have to attempt mediation before filing a commercial lawsuit in Turkey?

Yes. For most commercial disputes involving a monetary or compensation claim, mediation is a mandatory precondition to filing. A claimant must obtain a mediator’s report confirming the parties failed to settle, and without it the court dismisses the case on procedural grounds.

✅ Can I freeze my opponent’s assets before they know I am suing?

Yes. A provisional attachment (ihtiyati haciz) can be requested directly from the court and granted without prior notice to the other side, allowing a creditor to block bank accounts and assets before the debtor can move them. It usually requires posting security set by the court.

✅ Which court hears commercial disputes in Turkey?

Commercial disputes are heard by the specialized Commercial Courts of First Instance (Asliye Ticaret Mahkemesi), not by general civil courts, when both parties are merchants or the subject matter falls under the Turkish Commercial Code.

✅ As a foreign company, do I have to pay a deposit just to sue in Turkey?

Often, yes. Under Article 84 of the Code of Civil Procedure, a foreign claimant must usually post security for the defendant’s potential costs, unless an exemption applies through a treaty or established reciprocity between the two countries.

✅ How long does commercial litigation take in Turkey?

A contested commercial dispute commonly takes two to four years to reach a final judgment, largely because of the multi-tiered appeal system running from the first instance court to the Regional Court of Appeal and the Court of Cassation.

✅ Can I enforce a foreign court judgment in Turkey?

Yes, but not automatically. A foreign judgment must first be recognized and granted enforcement by a Turkish court under Law No. 5718, which requires conditions including reciprocity with the issuing country, proper service in the original case, and consistency with Turkish public policy.

✅ Is enforcing a foreign arbitral award easier than a court judgment?

Generally yes. Foreign arbitral awards are enforced under the New York Convention, to which Turkey is a party, and are not subject to the reciprocity requirement that applies to foreign court judgments, though public policy review still applies.

✅ What is the role of the court-appointed expert?

On technical matters, the judge appoints an independent expert (bilirkişi) whose written report often shapes the verdict. Much of commercial litigation involves challenging an unfavorable report or defending a favorable one.

✅ Can I challenge a bad expert report?

Yes. Parties may object to an expert report, request clarification, or ask the court to appoint a new expert panel. Whether a new report is ordered is at the court’s discretion, which is why the objection must be argued with precision.

✅ I am a minority shareholder being pushed out. What can I do?

The Turkish Commercial Code allows a minority shareholder to seek a court-appointed special auditor, to challenge and annul unlawful general assembly resolutions, and in serious cases to seek dissolution for just cause, where a court may instead order a buyout of the shares at a value it determines.

✅ Will suing to cancel a dilutive resolution stop the dilution?

Not on its own. The dilution can proceed during the case unless the court grants an interim measure suspending the contested resolution, which must be requested alongside the main action.

✅ Do I need to come to Turkey to litigate?

No. With a properly notarized and apostilled power of attorney, a commercial litigation lawyer can file the case, attend hearings, and conduct enforcement on your behalf without you entering the country.

✅ Does winning the case mean I get paid?

No. A judgment is a document, not a payment. To collect, you must open separate enforcement proceedings (icra takibi) to seize and liquidate the debtor’s assets under Law No. 2004.

✅ Should we choose arbitration or court litigation?

It depends on the contract and the dispute. Arbitration offers confidentiality, chosen arbitrators, and strong cross-border enforcement; state court litigation offers lower fees and a public, structured appeal system. The choice is best made when the contract is drafted.

✅ Are documents in English accepted by Turkish courts?

Documents submitted as evidence must be officially translated into Turkish and, where required, notarized. Controlling the quality of that translation is part of building the case, since nuance can otherwise be lost.

Related Legal Resources

🔹 Contracts and Corporate Structure

Most commercial disputes begin in the contract. Our Turkish contract lawyers draft and review the agreements that litigation later tests, and our corporate lawyers in Turkey handle the shareholder and governance structures behind partnership disputes.

🔹 Working Across Borders

For foreign clients managing a Turkish dispute from abroad, an English-speaking lawyer keeps the strategy clear across languages and time zones, from the first power of attorney to final enforcement.

🔹 External Authorities

For arbitration, the Istanbul Arbitration Centre (ISTAC) publishes its rules and procedures, and the framework for enforcing foreign arbitral awards is set by the New York Convention administered through UNCITRAL.

Reviewed by Fatih Öznur, founding partner at Öznur & Partners and a member of the Istanbul Bar Association, whose cross-border practice covers commercial disputes, enforcement, and the protection of foreign investors in Turkey.

A commercial contract in Turkey is tested the moment one side stops cooperating, and what happens next is decided less by who was right than by who moved first and in the right order. Secure the assets before the notice goes out. Get the jurisdiction right before filing. Plan enforcement before the foreign case even closes. The structure of Turkish commercial litigation is demanding, but for the party who understands it early, that same structure is the protection. In commercial litigation, the cases that go wrong for foreign companies are rarely the ones with weak facts. They are the ones where good facts arrived too late.