How a Securities Lawsuit Proceeds in Turkey: Stages and Costs

Before an investment committee approves litigation in Turkey, it will want to know what the process looks like: the stages, the time limits each side must meet, the role of court-appointed experts, the costs and the routes of appeal. Turkish civil procedure is written and stage-based. A securities damages claim is a commercial case heard by the commercial court of first instance (Commercial Code Arts. 4 and 5), preceded by mandatory mediation for money claims (Art. 5/A). The parties exchange two rounds of written pleadings with two-week deadlines (Code of Civil Procedure Arts. 127 and 136); after that, claims and defences cannot be expanded (Art. 141). A preliminary examination fixes the issues and decides limitation objections before evidence is taken (Arts. 137–142). Damages are almost always quantified by court-appointed experts, whose reports must be delivered within three months, extendable by three, and may be challenged within two weeks (Arts. 266, 274 and 281). Since 31 July 2026, hearings may not be more than three months apart except in compelling cases (Art. 147(3)). Judgments can be appealed to the regional court and then the Court of Cassation, each within two weeks of service (Arts. 345 and 361), but appeals do not stop enforcement unless security is given (Art. 350; Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law Art. 36). This guide walks through each stage, with the deadlines, costs and points specific to foreign institutions. It reflects the legislation in force as at 25 October 2026.

The stages at a glance

Stages of a commercial damages action in Turkey

Stage	What happens	Main provisions
1. Mediation	Mandatory application to a mediator for commercial money claims; limitation suspended	Commercial Code Art. 5/A; Mediation Law No. 6325 Art. 18/A
2. Statement of claim	Filing with facts, evidence, legal grounds and relief; advance fees and costs paid	Code of Civil Procedure Arts. 118–121
3. Exchange of pleadings	Defence, reply and rejoinder, each within two weeks	Arts. 127 and 136
4. Preliminary examination	Procedural objections, issues in dispute, evidence, settlement; limitation decided	Arts. 137–142
5. Taking of evidence	Documents, witnesses, expert reports; hearings at most three months apart	Arts. 143–147 and 266–293
6. Oral argument and judgment	Final submissions; judgment pronounced and reasoned	Arts. 184–186 and 294–298
7. Appeal (istinaf)	Review of facts and law by the regional court	Arts. 341–360
8. Appeal on points of law (temyiz)	Review of law by the Court of Cassation	Arts. 361–373

Each stage has fixed time limits for the parties. The court’s own timetable is less predictable, but the procedure is designed so that issues are narrowed early and evidence is gathered in a structured way. The sections that follow explain what an institutional claimant must do at each stage.

Before filing

Three steps normally precede the lawsuit. First, for commercial cases whose subject is a sum of money, applying to a mediator is a condition of the action (Commercial Code No. 6102 Art. 5/A(1)). The mediator must conclude within six weeks of appointment, extendable by two (Art. 5/A(2)). Limitation is suspended while mediation runs (Mediation Law No. 6325 Art. 18/A(15)), and the final minutes recording that no agreement was reached must be attached to the statement of claim; a claim filed without prior mediation is dismissed (Art. 18/A(2)). Where an arbitration agreement applies, mandatory mediation does not (Art. 18/A(18)).

Second, evidence at risk should be secured. A court can order evidence to be preserved before any lawsuit (Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100 Art. 400), and documents held by others can later be ordered produced. Third, where defendants may move assets, a precautionary attachment or interim injunction may be sought before suing, which then triggers its own deadlines for filing the main action. These tools are explained in Obtaining and Preserving Evidence in Turkey and Freezing Assets in Turkey for Investor Claims.

Which court and which procedure

Securities damages claims are, in almost all cases, commercial cases. Disputes arising from matters regulated in the Commercial Code, from the commission and custody provisions of the Code of Obligations, and from rules on banks and financial institutions are commercial cases whatever the status of the parties (Commercial Code Art. 4(1)). The commercial court of first instance (asliye ticaret mahkemesi) hears all commercial cases regardless of value, unless the law provides otherwise (Art. 5(1)).

The procedure depends on value. In commercial cases, evidence and its submission follow the Code of Civil Procedure, and commercial cases with a value not exceeding a threshold, set at one million Turkish lira and increased annually, follow the simple procedure (Commercial Code Art. 4(2)). Institutional claims will usually exceed this threshold and follow the written procedure described in this guide, with two rounds of pleadings and a separate preliminary examination.

The competent court is, as a rule, that of the defendant’s domicile or registered seat (Code of Civil Procedure Art. 6), and also, for contractual claims, the place of performance (Art. 10), for claims from a branch’s transactions, the branch (Art. 14(1)), and for claims against directors and auditors, the company’s seat (Commercial Code Art. 561). Where there are several defendants, the claimant can choose the court of any of them, as discussed in Can Foreign Investors Bring a Class Action in Turkey?

The statement of claim

A case is deemed brought on the date the statement of claim is registered (Code of Civil Procedure Art. 118(1)). The statement of claim must contain the name of the court; the names and addresses of the parties; the identification details required; the names and addresses of legal representatives and of the claimant’s lawyer; the subject of the claim and, in claims concerning property rights, its value; numbered, clear summaries of all facts on which the claim relies; the evidence for each fact; the legal grounds; a clear statement of the relief sought; and the signature (Art. 119(1)). If items other than the court, value, facts, evidence and legal grounds are missing, the judge gives the claimant a definitive one-week period to complete them, failing which the case is deemed not brought (Art. 119(2)).

Documents in the claimant’s possession must be attached, and for documents to be obtained from elsewhere, the statement must give enough information for them to be found (Art. 121). The claimant must pay the court fees and the advance on costs set annually by the Ministry of Justice when filing (Art. 120(1)); if the advance proves insufficient, the court gives a definitive two-week period to top it up (Art. 120(2)).

Key point: In Turkish procedure, the facts and evidence set out in the first round of pleadings largely define the case. Claims and defences can be expanded freely only in the reply and rejoinder; afterwards, only with the other side’s express consent or by a single amendment (Arts. 141 and 176). A foreign institution should invest in the statement of claim: every fact numbered, every fact tied to evidence.

Model outline: statement of claim in a securities damages action (Code of Civil Procedure Art. 119)

1. Court: the commercial court of first instance at the chosen venue, with the basis of jurisdiction.
2. Parties: the claimant institution with its identification details, legal representative and Turkish lawyer; each defendant with address.
3. Value: the amount claimed, stating whether it is a partial claim under Art. 109 with an express reservation of the remainder.
4. Mediation: reference to the final minutes, attached (Mediation Law Art. 18/A(2)).
5. Facts, numbered: the holdings and transactions; the disclosures or conduct complained of; the emergence of the truth; the loss; each fact with the evidence supporting it.
6. Evidence: documents attached; documents to be obtained from SPK, the exchange, the Central Registry, the criminal file and the defendants; expert examination; witnesses.
7. Legal grounds: for example Capital Markets Law Art. 32, Code of Obligations Arts. 49 and 61, Commercial Code Arts. 553 and 557.
8. Relief: payment of the stated amount with interest from the date of loss, costs and lawyer’s fees; any interim measure requested.
9. Annexes: power of attorney, apostilled corporate documents, sworn translations, security for costs if required.

The exchange of pleadings

The court serves the statement of claim on the defendant (Code of Civil Procedure Art. 122). The defendant has two weeks from service to file its defence; where preparing it within that period is very difficult or impossible, the court may, on an application made within the period, grant a single extension of up to one month running from the end of the original period (Art. 127). A defendant that files no defence in time is deemed to have denied all the facts in the statement of claim (Art. 128); it does not lose the case by default.

The claimant may file a reply within two weeks of service of the defence, and the defendant a rejoinder within two weeks of service of the reply (Art. 136(1)). In the reply and rejoinder, the parties may freely expand or change their claims and defences; once the exchange of pleadings is complete, they may not, subject to amendment and the other side’s express consent (Art. 141).

A defendant that wants to raise an objection to jurisdiction or the existence of an arbitration agreement must do so as a preliminary objection; in particular, the arbitration objection must be raised for the court to dismiss the case on that ground (Art. 413(1)). Procedural requirements such as prior mediation are examined by the court of its own motion.

The preliminary examination

After the exchange of pleadings, the court carries out a preliminary examination. It examines the procedural requirements and preliminary objections, identifies precisely the issues in dispute, takes the preparatory steps for the submission and collection of evidence and, in disputes the parties can freely settle, encourages them to settle or mediate (Code of Civil Procedure Art. 137(1)). No evidence-taking hearing may be set until the preliminary examination is complete (Art. 137(2)).

The court first decides on procedural requirements and preliminary objections on the file, hearing the parties if needed (Art. 138). It then sets a preliminary hearing. The summons warns each party that, within a definitive two-week period from service, it must submit the documents it referred to in its pleadings but has not yet produced, or explain how documents held elsewhere can be obtained, failing which it will be deemed to have abandoned that evidence (Arts. 139(1)(ç) and 140(5)). At the hearing, the judge identifies one by one the points on which the parties agree and disagree, informs them about settlement and mediation, and records the disputed points in minutes on which the evidence-taking stage will be based (Art. 140(1)–(3)). The preliminary examination is completed in one hearing, or exceptionally two (Art. 140(4)).

After the preliminary hearing and before taking evidence, the judge decides on objections and defences relating to forfeiture periods and limitation (Art. 142). For defendants in securities cases, limitation is often the first line of defence, so this decision can end a case early or clear the way for the merits. The applicable periods are set out in Limitation Periods for Investor Claims in Turkey.

Key point: The two-week period in the preliminary hearing summons (Art. 139(1)(ç)) is definitive. Documents held abroad, for example custodian records or internal trade data, must be ready by then, with translations, or the institution risks being deemed to have abandoned them.

Contact Hukukçular Evi Ankara

For questions on how a claim arising from the 2026 fund and manipulation cases would proceed before the Turkish courts, you can reach our office by phone or WhatsApp. We correspond in English. Hukukçular Evi Ankara: +90 554 648 37 15

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Taking evidence

In the evidence-taking stage, all claims and defences are examined together, although the judge may decide to examine one issue first to simplify or shorten the proceedings (Code of Civil Procedure Art. 143). The court may hear the parties on the facts (Art. 144). Evidence not submitted within the statutory time may not be relied on later, unless its late submission is not intended to delay the case or the delay is not the party’s fault (Art. 145). When the court considers the case sufficiently clear for decision, it informs the parties that the evidence-taking stage has ended (Art. 146).

Securities cases rest mainly on documents: trade records, disclosures, financial statements, SPK findings and the criminal file. A party relying on a document in a foreign language must submit a translation, and the court may require an official translation (Art. 223). Foreign official documents require certification, in practice an apostille where the Apostille Convention applies (Art. 224). The court can order the other party or third parties to produce documents necessary for proof (Arts. 220–221). These tools are explained in Obtaining and Preserving Evidence in Turkey.

Court-appointed experts and party experts

Where resolving the dispute requires special or technical knowledge outside law, the court obtains an expert opinion on a party’s request or of its own motion; experts may not be used on matters that can be resolved by general knowledge or the legal knowledge a judge must have (Code of Civil Procedure Art. 266). The court may appoint one expert, or with stated reasons, a panel of an odd number (Art. 267). Experts are chosen from regional lists (Art. 268).

The appointment decision, made after hearing the parties, must define the scope of the examination, the questions the expert must answer and the deadline for the report (Art. 273(1)). The deadline may not exceed three months, and the court may extend it by up to three months on the expert’s reasoned request (Art. 274(1)). The report is served on the parties before the hearing (Art. 280). Each party may, within two weeks of service, ask the court to have the expert complete omissions, clarify ambiguities or appoint a new expert; a single additional period of up to two weeks may be granted where the objection requires special or technical work (Art. 281(1)). The court may obtain a supplementary report, hear the expert orally or order a new examination (Art. 281(2)–(3)). The judge assesses the expert’s opinion freely together with the other evidence (Art. 282).

Parties may also obtain a scientific opinion from their own expert, but no additional time can be requested for that reason alone. The court may call the party expert to be heard, and if the expert does not appear without valid excuse, the opinion is disregarded (Art. 293).

Key point: In securities cases the court expert’s report usually decides quantum and often causation. Two things matter most: proposing precise questions before the appointment decision (Art. 273), and filing a detailed, technically supported objection within two weeks of service (Art. 281), backed where useful by a party expert opinion (Art. 293).

Model outline: objection to a court expert’s report (Code of Civil Procedure Art. 281)

1. Court, file number and date of service of the report, showing the objection is filed within two weeks, or within the additional period granted.
2. The questions set in the appointment decision and the points the report did not answer.
3. Specific errors: wrong trade data, wrong dates for the emergence of the truth, a methodology inconsistent with the presumption of causation in Capital Markets Law Art. 32(4), arithmetic errors, currency or interest errors.
4. Supporting material: a party expert opinion (Art. 293), market data, documents in the file the expert did not consider.
5. Request: a supplementary report on stated questions, oral examination of the expert, or a new expert panel with the required specialisations.

Hearings and the pace of proceedings

After the preliminary examination, the parties are summoned to hearings for evidence-taking and oral argument. The summons warns that if a party does not attend without valid excuse, the hearing will continue in its absence and it may not object to steps taken (Code of Civil Procedure Art. 147(1)–(2)). Law No. 7589 added a new rule in force since 31 July 2026: the interval between hearings may not exceed three months; the judge may set a longer interval, with reasons, only in compelling cases such as a lengthy expert examination or evidence-taking by another court (Art. 147(3)).

Attendance matters. If both parties fail to attend, the file is removed from the active list; if one attends, the case may continue in the other’s absence or be removed at the attending party’s request (Art. 150(1)–(2)). A removed case may be revived by either party within three months; if not, it is deemed not to have been brought, and after the first revival a case may not be left unattended more than once (Art. 150(4)–(6)). A claim in a case deemed not brought is treated as never having been made (Art. 150(7)), which can have serious limitation consequences. Law No. 7589 also adds a further paragraph to Art. 150, in force from 31 October 2026.

Amending the claim

Two mechanisms allow a claim to grow after filing. A party may amend its procedural acts in whole or in part once in the same case (Code of Civil Procedure Art. 176), until the end of the evidence-taking stage (Art. 177(1)); after a remand, amendment is again possible until evidence-taking ends (Art. 177(2)). Separately, under Art. 109(4), added by Law No. 7589 and in force since 31 July 2026, a partial claim may be increased once in the same case until the end of the evidence-taking stage without being subject to the prohibition on expanding the claim, with limitation deemed interrupted from the filing date for the increased part. Article 107 on undetermined claims was repealed with effect from the same date.

For institutional claimants, the combination of a partial claim and an increase after the expert report is the usual way to file in time, keep advance court fees proportionate and align the final figure with the expert’s quantification.

Oral argument and judgment

When the evidence has been examined, the judge invites the parties present to comment on the evidence as a whole and, if nothing remains to be examined, announces that the evidence-taking stage is over (Code of Civil Procedure Art. 184). The court then moves in the same hearing to oral argument; at a party’s request, the hearing is adjourned for at least two weeks, without further summons (Art. 186(1)). In oral argument the court asks the parties for their final words and gives judgment (Art. 186(2)).

The judgment is given and pronounced in the hearing at which the proceedings end, by reading out the operative part recorded in the minutes (Art. 294(2)–(3)). Where, for compelling reasons, only the operative part is pronounced, the reasoned judgment must be written within one month (Art. 294(4)). Appeal periods run from service of the judgment, as explained below.

Costs, court fees and lawyers’ fees

Costs in a Turkish commercial damages action

Item	Rule	Provision
Judgment fee	Proportional fee on the amount in dispute decided on the merits, currently 68.31 per thousand under Tariff 1; one quarter paid on filing, the rest within one month of service of the decision	Fees Law No. 492, Art. 28(1)(a) and Tariff 1 (III-1-a)
Unpaid fees	Subsequent steps are not taken until fees are paid; the balance of the judgment fee does not prevent service, enforcement or appeal	Fees Law Arts. 28(1)(a) and 32
Advance on costs	Paid on filing under the annual tariff; topped up within a definitive two weeks if insufficient	Code of Civil Procedure Art. 120
Costs of the proceedings	Fees, service costs, expert and witness fees, interim measures, lawyer’s fees fixed by law, and other costs	Art. 323
Allocation	Borne by the losing party; shared in proportion to success where each side wins in part; several losing parties may be held jointly liable	Art. 326
Lawyer’s fee awarded	The fee fixed under the statutory tariff is awarded to the successful represented party	Art. 330
Arbitration	The proportional judgment fee under this provision is not charged in arbitration	Fees Law Tariff 1 (III-1-a)
Security for costs	Foreign claimants provide security set by the court unless exempted on reciprocity	Law No. 5718 Art. 48

The advance part of the judgment fee is calculated on the value of the claim as filed, which is another reason partial claims are common in large cases. The fee agreement between the institution and its Turkish lawyer is separate from the lawyer’s fee awarded by the court, as explained in Representing Foreign Institutional Investors.

Appeal to the regional court

Final decisions of first-instance courts, and certain decisions on interim measures and precautionary attachments, may be appealed to the regional court of appeal (bölge adliye mahkemesi) by way of istinaf (Code of Civil Procedure Art. 341(1)). Judgments in small property claims below a threshold adjusted annually are final (Art. 341(2)–(4); Additional Art. 1); institutional securities claims will normally exceed it. The appeal period is two weeks from service of the judgment on each party (Art. 345).

The regional court examines the case within the limits of the grounds stated in the appeal petition, but takes account of public order of its own motion (Art. 355). Where it finds certain serious procedural defects, such as a judge who should have been excluded, lack of jurisdiction, or failure to collect or assess important evidence, it sets the judgment aside and sends the case back without a hearing (Art. 353(1)(a)). Otherwise it may dismiss the appeal on the merits, correct the judgment, or, after completing any missing steps, decide the case afresh (Art. 353(1)(b)); in other cases it holds a hearing and decides on the merits itself (Art. 356). Unlike in some systems, the regional court reviews both the facts and the law and can take evidence.

Appeal to the Court of Cassation

Final decisions of the regional courts that are open to appeal on points of law may be appealed to the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay) within two weeks of service (Code of Civil Procedure Art. 361(1)). A party that won may also appeal if it has a legal interest (Art. 361(2)). Regional court decisions in claims up to a threshold set by Art. 362(1)(a) and adjusted annually cannot be appealed further. Law No. 7589 added Art. 362(3), in force since 31 July 2026, which regulates when a regional court decision given afresh on the merits after allowing an appeal can be appealed, after the Constitutional Court annulled part of Art. 362(1)(a) in that respect by its decision of 26 February 2026. For claims of institutional size, these thresholds will usually be exceeded, but the rules should be checked for each decision.

The Court of Cassation is not bound by the grounds of appeal and may examine other points it finds contrary to explicit provisions of law (Art. 369(1)). It reviews the file without a hearing, except in specified cases, including money claims above a threshold, where a party has requested a hearing (Art. 369(2)). It reverses a decision, in whole or in part, for misapplication of the law or the contract, breach of procedural requirements, unjustified refusal to admit evidence, or procedural errors affecting the decision (Art. 371). After reversal, the case returns to the first-instance or regional court, which may comply or resist; if it resists and the chamber maintains its view, the matter goes to the Assembly of Civil Chambers (Art. 373).

Enforcement during appeals

An appeal to the regional court does not stop enforcement of a money judgment, and neither does an appeal to the Court of Cassation (Code of Civil Procedure Arts. 350(1) and 367(1)). Judgments on personal status, family law and real rights in immovables are exceptions that cannot be enforced until final (Arts. 350(2) and 367(2)).

A judgment debtor that appeals can obtain a stay of enforcement only by depositing the amount awarded with an official authority or providing security acceptable to the enforcement court, such as a pledge, securities or a reliable bank guarantee, or where the debtor’s attached assets already cover the judgment (Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law Art. 36(1)). For a successful investor, this means that a first-instance judgment has real value: it can be enforced, or it forces the defendant to post security. Enforcement against assets in Turkey and abroad is discussed in Suing in Turkey or Abroad.

Hukukçular Evi Ankara

Ankara-based law office, Av. Fatma Öztürk. Telephone and WhatsApp: +90 554 648 37 15. We correspond in English.

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Settlement during proceedings

Settlement is encouraged throughout. At the preliminary examination the judge must inform the parties about settlement and mediation and encourage them, and may set one further hearing if a result seems likely (Code of Civil Procedure Arts. 137(1) and 140(2)). A court settlement is a contract concluded before the court to end the dispute in whole or in part; it may cover matters outside the subject of the case and may be conditional (Art. 313). It can be made at any time until the judgment becomes final; if made after judgment, the file is not sent for appeal, and the court that gave the judgment issues an additional decision in line with the settlement (Art. 314). A settlement ends the case and has the effect of a final judgment; the court decides in accordance with it if the parties so request (Art. 315(1)).

The lawyer’s power of attorney must expressly authorise settlement, mediation and other alternative dispute resolution, waiver and acceptance (Art. 74). Without that authority the lawyer cannot settle, so the power of attorney should be drafted with these powers from the start.

Points specific to foreign institutions

▸ Representation. Only lawyers registered with a Turkish bar may represent parties before Turkish courts. The power of attorney must be notarised (Code of Civil Procedure Art. 76) and expressly include the special powers in Art. 74; if executed abroad, it is apostilled where the Apostille Convention applies.
▸ Security for costs. Foreign claimants must provide security set by the court unless exempted on the basis of reciprocity (Law No. 5718 Art. 48).
▸ Language. Proceedings are in Turkish; foreign-language documents must be translated (Code of Civil Procedure Art. 223).
▸ Documents from abroad. The two-week definitive period at the preliminary stage (Art. 139(1)(ç)) and the two-week period to object to an expert report (Art. 281) require documents and technical input from abroad to be organised in advance.
▸ Internal approvals. Appeal periods of two weeks from service (Arts. 345 and 361) leave little time for board-level decisions; institutions should agree appeal authority in advance.
▸ Coordination with the criminal case. The civil case can use material from the criminal file, and civil courts are not bound to wait for the criminal judgment; strategy should be coordinated, as explained in Joining a Criminal Case in Turkey as a Foreign Investor.

Statutory time limits through a case

Time limits for the parties in a Turkish commercial damages action

Step	Time limit	Provision
Mandatory mediation	Six weeks from appointment, extendable by two	Commercial Code Art. 5/A(2)
Completing formal defects in the statement of claim	One week, definitive	Code of Civil Procedure Art. 119(2)
Topping up the advance on costs	Two weeks, definitive	Art. 120(2)
Defence	Two weeks from service; one extension of up to one month	Art. 127
Reply and rejoinder	Two weeks each from service	Art. 136(1)
Producing documents referred to in pleadings	Two weeks, definitive, from service of the preliminary hearing summons	Art. 139(1)(ç)
Expert report	Up to three months, extendable by up to three	Art. 274(1)
Objection to expert report	Two weeks from service; one extension of up to two weeks	Art. 281(1)
Interval between hearings	Not more than three months, save compelling reasons	Art. 147(3)
Reviving a case removed from the list	Three months	Art. 150(4)–(5)
Reasoned judgment where only the operative part was pronounced	One month	Art. 294(4)
Balance of the judgment fee	One month from service of the decision	Fees Law Art. 28(1)(a)
Appeal to the regional court	Two weeks from service	Code of Civil Procedure Art. 345
Appeal to the Court of Cassation	Two weeks from service	Art. 361(1)

Frequently asked questions

Which Turkish court hears a securities damages claim?

The commercial court of first instance, which hears all commercial cases regardless of value (Commercial Code Arts. 4 and 5(1)), after mandatory mediation for money claims (Art. 5/A).

How long does the defendant have to answer?

Two weeks from service, with a possible single extension of up to one month (Code of Civil Procedure Art. 127).

What happens if the defendant does not file a defence?

It is deemed to deny all the facts in the statement of claim (Art. 128); the claimant must still prove its case.

Can I add new claims or facts after the pleadings?

Only in the reply and rejoinder freely; afterwards only with the other side’s express consent or by a single amendment until the end of evidence-taking (Arts. 141, 176 and 177).

When does the court decide limitation objections?

After the preliminary hearing and before taking evidence (Art. 142).

Who quantifies damages in a Turkish securities case?

Usually a court-appointed expert or expert panel, whose report the judge assesses freely with the other evidence (Arts. 266, 267 and 282).

How long does an expert have to report?

Up to three months, extendable by up to three months on a reasoned request (Art. 274(1)).

How do I challenge an expert report?

Within two weeks of service, asking for completion, clarification or a new expert; one additional period of up to two weeks may be granted (Art. 281(1)).

Can I submit my own expert’s opinion?

Yes, but no extra time is given for it, and the court may call your expert to be heard (Art. 293).

How far apart can hearings be?

Not more than three months since 31 July 2026, unless the judge gives reasons for a compelling longer interval (Art. 147(3)).

How much is the court fee?

The proportional judgment fee in Tariff 1 of the Fees Law, currently 68.31 per thousand of the amount decided; one quarter is paid on filing (Fees Law Art. 28(1)(a)).

How long do I have to appeal?

Two weeks from service to the regional court (Code of Civil Procedure Art. 345), and two weeks from service to the Court of Cassation (Art. 361(1)).

Does an appeal stop enforcement of a money judgment?

No, unless the debtor deposits the amount or provides acceptable security (Arts. 350 and 367; Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law Art. 36).

Can the parties settle after judgment?

Yes, until the judgment becomes final; the court that gave it then issues an additional decision in line with the settlement (Code of Civil Procedure Art. 314).

Important note: This guide is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice on any matter. It does not suggest that any person is liable or has committed an offence; investigations are ongoing and the presumption of innocence applies. Monetary thresholds and fee rates are adjusted periodically and should be checked when a step is taken. It reflects the legislation in force as at 25 October 2026. Legislation relied on: Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100, Arts. 6, 10, 14, 74, 76, 109, 118–122, 127, 128, 136–147, 150, 176, 177, 184, 186, 220–224, 266–268, 273, 274, 280–282, 293, 294, 313–315, 323, 326, 330, 341, 345, 350, 353, 355, 356, 361, 362, 367, 369, 371, 373, 400, 413 and Additional Art. 1; Law No. 7589; Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102, Arts. 4, 5, 5/A and 561; Mediation Law No. 6325, Art. 18/A; Fees Law No. 492, Arts. 28 and 32 and Tariff 1; Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law No. 2004, Art. 36; Law No. 5718 on International Private and Procedural Law, Art. 48.