Amendments and Changes Introduced Under the 12th Judicial Package

The 12th Judicial Package in Turkey, introduced through Law No. 7589 and published on 31 July 2026, brings significant amendments across several areas of Turkish law. The amendments and regulatory changes are summarized below in bullet points.

Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law No. 2004

• In sales conducted for the dissolution of co-ownership of immovable property acquired through inheritance, the first auction will be held exclusively among the heirs who hold ownership rights.
• New rules have been introduced regarding bids and security deposits for sales conducted through the electronic sales portal.

Administrative Procedure Law No. 2577

• If the Regional Administrative Court considers the outcome of the first-instance court’s decision lawful but finds the reasoning incorrect or insufficient, it may amend the reasoning and dismiss the appeal.
• The circumstances in which the first-instance decision may be set aside and the case file remitted to the court that rendered the decision have been expanded. These include;
  • circumstances requiring rejection of the petition,
  • completion of proceedings against an incomplete or incorrect defendant,
  • failure to rule on a claim,
  • an incomplete judgment,
  • failure to conduct an on-site inspection or expert examination where required,
  • failure to hold a hearing where required.
• Subject to statutory exceptions, decisions rendered by the Regional Administrative Court after setting aside the first-instance judgment may be appealed before the Council of State within 30 days.
• Decisions concerning only attorney fees and litigation costs will be final.

Law No. 3095 on Statutory Interest and Default Interest

• The statutory interest rate has been set at 80% of the rediscount rate applied by the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye to short-term credit transactions on 31 December of the preceding year.
• If the rate determined on 30 June differs from the previous rate by five percentage points or more, 80% of the rate applicable on 30 June will apply during the second half of the year.
• Documents for which a certified copy is requested by courts or public prosecutors may be transmitted electronically by notaries.

Turkish Criminal Code No. 5237

• Where a person enables the use of a bank or credit card or another payment instrument belonging to themselves or another person, or enables the use of an account held with a bank, intermediary institution, payment service provider or crypto-asset service provider, and the conduct is limited solely to providing such information or means, the sentence will be reduced by half.

Code of Criminal Procedure No. 5271

• A decision on the suspension of the pronouncement of the judgment (HAGB) may be challenged by way of appeal.
• If the decision is rendered by the Regional Court of Appeal or the Court of Cassation acting as a court of first instance, cassation review will be available.
• HAGB may not be granted for offences of torture and torment, or for offences committed by public officials in connection with their duties which may qualify as ill-treatment within the scope of Article 17 of the Constitution.

Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098

• In compensation claims for loss of support;
  • for the period in which the income is known, statutory interest will accrue from the date of the tort or damage-causing event,
  • for the period in which the income cannot be determined, statutory interest will accrue from the date of the judgment.
• Payments made for performance purposes before the evidentiary phase begins will be deducted proportionally from the amount of compensation.

Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100

• The action for unquantified receivables has been abolished. Instead, a partial claim may be filed and the amount claimed may be increased once.
• For the increased portion, the statute of limitations will also be deemed interrupted as of the original filing date.
• The former provision will continue to apply to unquantified receivable actions filed before the date of repeal.
• As a rule, the interval between hearings may not exceed three months. Where necessary, the judge may determine a longer period by stating the reasons.
• In e-hearings, provisions requiring handwritten signatures will not apply, except in cases involving;
  • admission,
  • taking of an oath,
  • consent to withdrawal of the action,
  • waiver of the action,
  • acceptance of the claim,
  • settlement.
• Decisions rendered on the merits by the Regional Court of Appeal following a renewed examination may be subject to cassation review where the accepted or rejected amount exceeds the monetary threshold applicable to appeals.
• Where the decision concerns only litigation costs or attorney fees, it will become final at the appellate stage.

Other Amendments

• Under Law No. 2659 on Certain Regulations Concerning the Council of Forensic Medicine, new rules have been introduced regarding the appointment and terms of office of board members.
• Under Law No. 2802 on Judges and Public Prosecutors, new provisions have been introduced regarding the training and examination processes of assistant judges and assistant prosecutors.

 

Attorney, LL.M. Yiğit ADA

This document has been prepared for general informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice or legal consultancy in relation to any specific matter. Each dispute should be assessed separately in light of its particular circumstances.