1. Mediation in Commercial Disputes
Mediation is a compulsory practice in Turkey, in relation to employment, consumer and commercial disputes where mediation is a cause of action (in Turkish, “dava şartı”).

The Law on the Execution Proceedings for the Collection of Monetary Receivables Arising out of Subscription Agreements No. 7155 (in Turkish, “Abonelik Sözleşmesinden Kaynaklanan Para Alacaklarına İlişkin Takibin Başlatılması Usulü Hakkında Kanun, “Law No 7155”) which was published in the Official Gazette dated 19 December 2018, regulates the mediation process as a prerequisite for commercial cases and thereby brought a new article into Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102 (“TCC”).

According to Article 20 of Law No. 7155, “commercial disputes” where the subject matter is a debt or indemnity claim requiring the payment of a sum of money will be subject to mandatory commercial mediation. In this regard, Article 5/A is incorporated to TCC which stipulates mediation for claims regarding commercial receivables, in which a request for compensation of damages or payment of a certain amount is sought. As per Article 4 of the TCC, lawsuits arising from the following are considered as commercial lawsuits and are within the scope of the mandatory mediation:
(i) Issues regulated under the TCC,
(ii) Articles from 962 to 969 of Turkish Civil Code on pawnbrokers, who are lending upon pawn (in Turkish, “rehin karşılığında ödünç verme”),
(iii) Articles 202 and 203 Turkish Code of Obligations (“TCO”) concerning the take-over of the assets and business and the merger and transformation of businesses, Articles 444 and 447 of the TCO regarding the prohibition of competition, Articles from 487 to 501 of the TCO regarding the publishing contracts (in Turkish, “yayım sözleşmesi”), Articles from 515 to 519 of the TCO regulating the letter of credit and order of credit, Articles from 532 to 545 of the TCO concerning the commission contract, Articles from 547 to 554 of the TCO setting up the rules for commercial representatives, commercial agents and other trader assistants, Articles from 555 to 560 of the TCO regarding the remittance (in Turkish, “havale”), and Articles from 561 to 580 of the TCO regarding the safekeeping contracts (in Turkish, “saklama sözleşmesi”),
(iv) Legislation concerning intellectual property,
(v) Special provisions related to the exchange market, exhibition, street fair, markets, warehouse and other places that are peculiar to trade,
(vi) Regulations regarding the banks, other credit agencies, financial institutions and money lending transactions

Besides, mediation is mandatory for issues and lawsuits that are not expressly stated under Article 4 of the TCC, involving parties that are merchants on both sides of the dispute and disputes concerning the commercial enterprises of said parties. Accordingly, any party that wishes to bring formal court proceedings in relation to a commercial payment claim will first be required to complete the applicable mandatory mediation proceedings as a cause of action.

2. Mandatory Mediation in Labor Disputes
Regarding employment disputes, Article 3 of the Labor Courts Law No. 7036 published in Official Gazette dated 25 October 2017 requires parties first to apply for mediation if the dispute arises from debt claims, individual or collective employment contracts or re-employment claims.

3. Mandatory Mediation in Consumer Disputes
The Law Amending the Civil Procedure Law and Certain Laws No. 7251 published in the Official Gazette 28 July 2020 added “Article 73/A”, “Mediation as a prerequisite” to the Consumer Protection Law No. 6502. As per Article 73/A, consumer disputes with a monetary claim of TRY 15,430.- (approximately EUR 1,000) and above and disputes that are not monetary claims are subject to mandatory mediation as a prerequisite and therefore, applying for mediation before filing a lawsuit has become a prerequisite. The following disputes are not subject to mandatory mediation:

Consumer disputes concerning monetary claims of TRY 15,430.- or above – except the disputes stated above as not subject to mandatory mediation – are included in the scope of mandatory mediation for the year 2022.

According to Article 18/A-2 of the Law on Mediation in Civil Disputes Numbered 6325, in case of filing without applying to mediation first, courts must dismiss the case on grounds of absence of prerequisite without any further examination.

4. Reconciliation in Turkish Criminal Law
The reconciliation (in Turkish, “uzlaştırma”) which is a conflict resolution in the field of criminal law, has been regulated under the Criminal Procedure Code No. 5271 (“Law No. 5271”). As per Article 253 of the Law No. 5271, there shall be an attempt to mediate between the suspect and the victim or the real or juridical person of private law, who has suffered damages from the crime for crimes listed in the Law No. 5271 such as violation of freedom of business and labor, theft, fraud, intentional wounding etc. and the crimes explicitly listed in other legislation.

For that reason, reconciliation – if all other causes required by law are fulfilled – is one of the causes of action in Turkish criminal system.

In Turkish criminal justice system, reconciliation is a process that should be carried out at the investigation phase. Article 253 of the Law No. 5271 provides that if the crime which is under investigation is subject to reconciliation, the public prosecutor shall send the file to Reconciliation Office (in Turkish, “Uzlaştırma Bürosu”).

Our Law Firm remains at your disposal for any further clarifications you may need.