The Presidential Decree dated September 12, 2018, on the Amendment of Decree No. 32 on the Protection of the Value of the Turkish Lira (“New Decree”), introduced significant restrictions on the use of foreign currencies in certain agreements between Turkish residents. Below, we explain the scope of the New Decree and discuss possible issues and problems that may arise in relation to the implementation of the New Decree. We also assess the potential effects of the Communiqué (2018/32-51) on the Amendment of the Communiqué on Decree No. 32 on the Protection of the Value of the Turkish Lira (2008/32-34) (“Communiqué”), which was published in the Official Gazette on October 6, 2018, and lists the exceptions to the restrictions imposed by the New Decree.

Akol Law in Istanbul has announced that former White & Case lawyer Tugce Tatari has joined the firm as Partner and that Zeynep Yavuz has been promoted to Partner.

The Capital Markets Board (“CMB”) issued an announcement on September 27, 2018, on its website and addressed the much-disputed status of digital tokens and Initial Coin Offerings (“ICO”). In this announcement, the Capital Markets Board stated that it does not regulate or supervise ICOs, and also noted that it does not regulate or supervise most practices in which blockchain technologies are being used, such as cryptocurrency offerings and token offerings.

“The Regulation on the Amendments to the Regulation on the Price Labels” (the “Amending Regulation”) has been published in the Official Gazette dated 18 September 2018 and numbered 30539. The Amending Regulation shall enter into force on 3 October 2018, fifteen (15) days upon its publish date.

“The Regulation on the Amendments to the Regulation on the Implementation of the Turkish Citizenship Law” (the “Amending Regulation”) has been published in the Official Gazette dated 19 September 2018 and numbered 30540 and entered into force as of its publication date. Along with the publication of the Amending Regulation, the financial and investment criteria to acquire the Turkish citizenship have been reduced.

Corporate and Data Privacy lawyer Asli Yildiz has joined the DMA, a UK trade association for the one-to-one marketing industry that describes itself as "Europe’s largest marketing association," to head up its expanding legal division.

The Communique on the Procedures and Principles Regarding the Implementation of the Article 376 of the Turkish Commercial Code Numbered 6102 (the “Communiqué”) has been published in the Official Gazette dated 15 September 2018, numbered 30536 and entered into force as of its publication date.

Moral & Partners has advised Arimpeks Aluminyum Sanayi Ic ve Dis Ticaret A.S on the sale of an  80% stake in the company by the Kansak and Ercin families to Swiss-based Montana Tec Components AG, acting via its Aluflexpack AG subsidiary. PAE Law Office advised both Montana and Aluflexpack.

“Amending Regulation Regarding the Regulation on the Principles and Procedures to be Applied in Retail Trade’’ (the “Amending Regulation’’) has been published in the Official Gazette dated 15 August 2018 and numbered 30510, and entered into force as of 1 September 2018.

A. Introduction: The Competition Board (“Board”) has recently published its reasoned decision in its reassessment of the Turkish Pharmacists Association (Türk Eczacıları Birliği) (“TPA”) case, following the annulment decision rendered by the 13th Chamber of the High State Court (“High State Court”). The High State Court’s ruling was made as a result of the TPA’s appeal against the Board’s earlier decision concerning the TPA’s practices, which examined allegations that the TPA had fixed pharmacies’ purchasing terms and conditions in non-market circumstances. Pursuant to the investigation, the Board found that the TPA had violated Article 4 of the Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition (“Law No. 4054”), and imposed an administrative monetary fine corresponding to 3% of the TPA’s revenues for the 2009 fiscal year. 

Former ELIG Attorneys at Law Partner Olgu Kama has joined Norton Rose Fulbright as an international partner in Istanbul. Kama will provide Turkish law advice and will work out of the Bilgic Attorney Partnership, Norton Rose Fulbright's affiliated firm in Turkey.

“The Communiqué on the Decree No. 32 on the Protection of the Value of Turkish Currency regarding Export Proceeds (The Communiqué No. 2018-32/48) (the “Communiqué”) has been published in the Official Gazette dated 4 September 2018 and numbered 30525. The Communiqué has entered into force as of its publication date and shall remain in effect for six (6) months starting from its publication date.

Asli Karagozoglu Celik has been promoted to Head of Legal and Compliance at Novartis Oncology.

The Decree on the Amendments to the Decree No. 32 on Protection of the Value of Turkish Currency (the “Amending Decree”) has been published in the Official Gazette dated 13 September 2018 and numbered 30534 and entered into force starting from its publication date.

“The Regulation Amending the Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices Regulation” (the “Amending Regulation”) has been published in the Official Gazette dated 31 August 2018 and numbered 30521 and entered into force as of its publication date.

Paksoy has advised Atlassian on Turkish elements related to its USD 295 million acquisition of Boston-based OpsGenie, a company making technology which enables companies to better plan for and respond to IT service disruptions. Lead counsel for Atlassian was Hogan Lovells.

"The Communiqué on the Procedures and Principles for the Issuance of Building Registration Certificates" (the "Communiqué"), which closely concern citizens, has been published in the Official Gazette dated 6 June 2018 and numbered 30443 and came into force starting from the publishing date in order to eliminate the contradictions to the zoning legislation in our country where real estate is regarded as the number one safety investment instrument.

November 8, 2018, Marmara Taksim Hotel, Istanbul

We are excited to announce that registration for the 2018 Turkey General Counsel Summit is now open. The event will take place in Istanbul’s Marmara Taksim Hotel on November 8, 2018.