New Fronts for Mediation

New Fronts for Mediation

Turkiye
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Law No. 7445 on the Amendment of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law and Certain Laws (“Law“), also known as the 7th Judicial Package, has been published in the Official Gazette numbered 32154 on April 5, 2023.

With the new Law, it has become mandatory to apply for mediation before filing a lawsuit for the following disputes as of September 1, 2023;

  • Disputes arising from lease agreements, excluding those related to the evacuation of leased immovables under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law,
  • Disputes arising from the Condominium Law No. 634,
  • Disputes relating to the division of movable and immovable properties and termination of joint ownership,
  • Disputes arising from neighborhood rights,
  • Objection, negative determination, and restitution lawsuits related to commercial and business disputes.

Otherwise, the lawsuit will be rejected by the court. However, this prerequisite will not be applicable to the cases currently pending as of September 1, 2023, before the Courts of First Instance and Regional Courts of Appeal and the Court of Cassation. Furthermore, disputes regarding the transfer of immovable property or the establishment of limited rights on immovable property can be resolved through voluntary mediation as of September 1, 2023.

As a result, it has been made mandatory to apply to mediation before filing the following lawsuits in the Civil Courts of Peace, which keep the courts quite busy:

  • "Rent adjustment lawsuits (Article 138 of the Turkish Code of Obligations (“TCO”)"
  • "Rental debt lawsuits (Article 315 of the TCO)"
  • "Rent determination lawsuits (Article 344 of the TCO)"
  • "Eviction lawsuits due to necessity (Article 350 and Article 351 of TCO)"
  • "Eviction lawsuits following two justifiable notices (Article 352 of the TCO)".

With this regulation, the aim is to reduce the workload in the courts.

By Özgür Güner, Partner and Cerensu Cetin Yenigun, Senior Associate, Moral, Kinikoglu, Pamukkale, Kokenek