How to open a lawsuit in Turkey
A lawsuit is defined in the law as legal proceedings brought by the complainant before the court against another party that may be a natural person or an institution, seeking compensation for the damage caused by the defendant, and the defendant is obligated to comment on the claim in court, and in Turkish law persons are entitled Natural and legal persons file lawsuits, and in this article we will show you how to open a lawsuit in Turkey.

How to open a lawsuit in Turkey
Judicial cases fall into three groups; Civil, criminal, and administrative, depending on your jurisdiction, and civil cases are brought by filing an application to an authorized civil court in addition to a properly prepared application.

While criminal cases are filed by the public prosecutor because they pertain to public order, and in this sense, it is sufficient for the injured party or those close to it to file a report of the criminal incident to the Public Prosecution or law enforcement agencies in the court to ensure that the case is raised in relation to the incident that requires criminal proceedings, and the prosecution is The public is empowered to hold a public hearing on all other events encountered during her tenure that require criminal proceedings.

litigation costs
Since criminal proceedings are directly related to the public order and are opened by the public prosecution, there are usually no charges against the victim, while in other cases where a lawsuit is brought, there are some fees that must be paid, including court fees, procedural fees and the payment of Advocacy costs, and procedural fees are not always charged, for example, there are no court fees in the event of a divorce.

Litigation costs depend on the fee law, the relative fee should not be less than 35.90 TL, taking into account the current law of 2018 to prove the application of the fee law, and in the case of cases with relative fees 68.31 TL per thousand of the case value will be paid as a fee of 6%.

The decree also specifies the fees to be paid in other cases and acts, for example, as of 2018, the amount of fees to be paid for appeals and appeals was 176.60 Turkish liras.

Normally, all costs related to the lawsuit and any legal costs are charged to the losing party or the convicted party, meaning that if you win the lawsuit any costs you pay to file a lawsuit, plus court fees, expenses and any other expenses will be incurred by the other party.

Where to file a lawsuit
To determine where to file a lawsuit, it is first necessary to determine the jurisdiction in which the dispute occurs, for example, a civil servant who has been dismissed by an organization (A) where he works must go to the courts, in another example, if a person is dismissed He works for Company B unfairly or has not been paid, the labor courts are the place to open his case.

This indicates that it is necessary to first determine the jurisdiction of the dispute, since the jurisdiction of the court stems from public policy, the matter is considered by the court at every stage of the proceedings, and the case is dismissed if it is not done by the competent court.

On the other hand, the court of the place where the crime or act was committed is competent to discuss the lawsuit as defined in the Code of Civil Procedure for civil matters, for example, claims for damages can be asserted in the court where the unlawful act was committed, and in criminal cases it is used The Code of Criminal Procedure to determine the competent court, meaning that the court of general jurisdiction is the court in which the crime was committed.

The period of consideration of the case
The issue of the length of the proceedings generally depends on the workload of the pending court, but in practice, especially in large cities, it has been observed that cases are handled by the Ministry of Justice, that is, they take longer, and the Ministry sets the dates as follows:

Commercial Court: 231 days.
Civil Court of First Instance: 278 days.
Labor Court 417 days.
Execution courts: 97 days.
District Court: 91 days.
Family Court: 147 days.
Judicial proof of ownership and territory: 586 days
Consumer Court: 250 days.
Intellectual and Industrial Rights Commission: 377 days.


Elements to be presented in the petition
According to Turkish law, the following facts must be included in the petition:

Court name.
Surname, first name and address of the plaintiff and defendant.
The applicant's identity number in Turkey.
The name, surname and address of the legal representatives and, if applicable, the representative of the plaintiff.
In cases relating to the subject matter of the dispute, property rights and the value of the subject matter are clarified.
Clear summaries under the serial number of all cases on which the plaintiff's claim is based.
Evidence to support each alleged case.
The legal reasons on which it is based.
Clarify the purpose of the request.
The signature of the plaintiff or his legal representative or his representative must be attached


Frequently Asked Questions
Is it necessary to hire a lawyer to file the case?
There is no legal requirement to hire a lawyer to file a lawsuit, however, it is important that you do not take any potential risks or loss of rights because you do not receive legal assistance from a lawyer who specializes in opening the case and performing the work and procedures related to the case.

How do you open an administrative case?
The plaintiff begins initiating administrative proceedings against the actions of the department, or against the actions and affairs of a government official, and then an assessment is made of whether the procedures and transactions established by the department are appropriate or not, and administrative matters are dealt with before the administrative courts, the finance courts, and the Council of State.

How to open commercial law lawsuits?
Commercial law lawsuits arise from matters regulated by Turkish Commercial Law and disputes between merchants, and the lawsuit can be filed according to the procedures to be submitted to the Commercial Court of First Instance.

How do you open a divorce case?
Divorce proceedings begin by submitting an application to the Court of First Instance