So far, 2021 has seen less activity in terms of enforcement actions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA"), compared to 2020. In 2021, the United States Department of Justice ("DOJ") took a total of 19 enforcement actions, and the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") took a total of 4 enforcement actions. Therefore we observe that the DOJ has been a lot more active than the SEC in terms of the number of enforcement actions this year.

The Code on Amending the Bankruptcy and Enforcement Code and Some Other Laws ["Amendment Law"] No. 7343 was adopted on November 24, 2021 and entered into force after being published in the Official Gazette No. 31675 on November 30, 2021. In this article, we will explain the critical changes brought by the Amendment Law.

The Council of Judges and Prosecutors ["CJP"] of Turkey resolved on establishment of six new specialized courts through its decision dated November 21, 2021, published in the Official Gazette on November 30, 2021. The CJP also published an announcement on its website.

Former Counsels Eda Duru and Onur Ozgumus have been promoted to Partner at ELIG Gurkaynak in a promotion round that saw five other lawyers promoted to Counsel.

Regulation on Sharing of Secret Information ("Regulation") issued by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency ("BRSA") has been published in the Official Gazette numbered 31501 and dated June 4, 2021 and will enter into force on January 1, 2022. The purpose of the Regulation is to determine the scope, form, procedures and principles regarding the sharing and transfer of bank secret and customer secret information, and the Regulation introduces detailed regulations regarding the confidentiality obligation. In this regard, we will focus on the new regulations introduced by the Regulation.

Cakmak has appointed Senior Counsel Elif Demiroz and Counsel Gulsen Engin as Partners.

Former Pekin & Pekin Senior Partner Yalcin Ozge Okat has established OkatLaw in Istanbul.

Corporate governance principles are set of rules and practices introduced as preventive measures pursuant to corruptions and bankruptcies of publicly held companies occurred in 1980s, for protection of companies, shareholders and stakeholders and to avoid conflicts of interest. Under Turkish approach, the managing body, i.e. board of directors, is regarded as the pillar of corporate governance given that the problems relate to the management of the companies. Therefore, the principles are focused on the board of directors.

In recent years, the growing concern that employers’ market power in labor markets has led to reduced or suppressed wages and working conditions has heated up the discussions on the competition authorities’ potential interference over competition violations within labor markets. These discussions have not remained theoretical and the competition authorities have started to launch investigations into labor markets. The Turkish Competition Authority (TCA) has kept pace with this global trend. On April 20, 2021, the TCA announced on its official website that it has ex officio launched a full-fledged investigation against 32 companies, mainly active in digital markets, to determine whether they violated the Law on the Protection of Competition through gentlemen’s agreements in labor markets in Turkey.

White & Case has completed a new round of firm-wide promotions, appointing 28 Local Partners and 40 Counsels. Among these were new Local Partners Jakub Gubanski, Aleksandra Oziemska, Bartosz Smardzewski, and Pawel Zagorski in Warsaw, Gokce Uluc in Istanbul, and Marianna Galusova in Prague.

Under Turkish law, data controllers must be registered with the so-called “VERBIS” registration system before processing any personal data. The Turkish Personal Data Protection Authority announced December 31, 2021 as the final deadline for fulling this registration obligation pursuant to the Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 and the Regulation on Data Controllers Registry. The deadline is fast approaching.

Ilke Ozun Deniz has joined KPMG Turkiye as its Legal Affairs and Compliance Manager in Istanbul.

E-Hearing System is a system that enables participation in hearings held in civil courts  remotely. In this regard, the fundamental rules on this new system, which saves time and labor both for lawyers and other relevant persons while facilitating access to justice services, were previously elaborated in one of our articles. In a relatively short time after the promulgation of the Regulation on the Conduct of Hearings by Audio and Video Transmission in Civil Procedures [“Regulation”] which sets the e-Hearing procedures and principles in the Official Gazette dated June 30, 2021 e-Hearings have become widespread rapidly.

The legator has the authority to freely dispose of their assets in their lifetime. However, Turkish Civil Code secures the inheritance rights of some heirs and protects the inheritance shares at certain rates. Heirs whose inheritance rights are protected are defined as “heirs with statutory entitlement” in the Turkish Civil Code.

Contributed by Nazali Tax & Legal.

The new Communiqué amending the Capital Market Board’s [“CMB”] Communiqué on Tender Offers No. II-26.1 [“Amendment Communiqué”] entered into force upon its publication in the Official Gazette dated October 16, 2021.

Over the last decade, granting employees stock option rights for acquiring shares in the employer company has become a growing trend among companies operating in the technology sector, particularly in start-up companies. In this respect, companies favour "Employee Stock Option Plans" enabling employees to acquire a certain amount of shares in the company and conclude "Stock Option Agreements" with the employees for this purpose. In this article, the concept of stock options and various stock option plans will be discussed along with their implementation under Turkish law and in other jurisdictions.

All countries have had to deal with the intensifying effects of climate change in recent years. As a direct response, we are in the process of moving toward a low-carbon future. The Paris Agreement and the EU’s Green Deal have already urged all sectors to take measures to reduce carbon emission levels, and the energy transition movement is rapidly growing. COVID-19 has also hastened this global movement.