Corona Outbreak: Covid-19 Measures in Turkish Judiciary

A new Law Amending Certain Acts No.7226 was published in the Official Gazette No. 31080 dated March 26, 2020. In order to prevent loss of rights in the judiciary;

(I) Deadlines of all periods regarding to the origination, use or termination of a right in/regarding litigation, enforcement proceedings, application, complaint, appeal, notice, submission; statutory limitation, mandatory administrative application periods and statutory periods of mediation and settlement institutions will freeze from (including) March 13, 2020 to April 30, 2020.

(II) The periods determined in the Bankruptcy and Enforcement Law No. 2004 and other related laws and the periods determined by the judge or enforcement and bankruptcy offices in this context; all enforcement and bankruptcy proceedings except for alimony payments, related follow-up transactions, new enforcement and bankruptcy requests, proceedings regarding enforcement and execution of precautionary distraint will freeze from (including) March 22, 2020 to April 30, 2020. If the sales day declared by the enforcement and bankruptcy offices regarding the goods or rights remains within the waiting period, the new sales day shall be given by the enforcement and bankruptcy offices without seeking a new request. Additionally, payments made within the waiting period are accepted and one of the parties may request the transactions to be made in favor of the other party.

These periods will begin to process from the day after the stopping period ends. For the periods which remain 15 days or less until the start day of the stopping, will be deemed to be extended 15 days from the date which the stopping period ends.

In addition, some of the periods left out of scope of this article such as (i) statutory periods set forth in the laws regarding crime and punishment, misdemeanor acts, administrative sanctions, and disciplinary arrest; (ii) periods regarding the protection measures regulated in Code of Criminal Procedure No. 5271; (iii) periods regarding to the transactions which complete the precautionary measures regulated in the Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100.