Turkey Requires Ship Recycling Plan under the HK Convention:

By the declaration published in the Official Gazette today, it has been announced that Turkey has opted to require the submission for approval of a Ship Recycling Plan before a ship may be recycled in Turkey’s authorized Ship Recycling Facilities under the International Convention on the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (“Convention”).

THE COMMUNIQUE ON EXCEPTIONS ALLOWING COMPANIES TO CONTRACT UNDER FOREIGN CURRENCIES HAS BEEN PUBLISHED:

Exceptions allowing companies to contract under foreign currencies has been published. Presidential Decree dated 13 September 2018 had brought restrictions to agreements denominated in foreign currencies or indexed to foreign currencies concluded between real persons and legal entities residing in Turkey.

REGISTRATION OBLIGATIONS HAVE STARTED: CONTROLLERS HAVE 12 MONTHS TO REGISTER:

As our readers may recall from our earlier coverage of the data controllers’ registry, Data Protection Board (“DPB”), with its decision numbered 2018/88 (“Decision”), had previously determined the timeline for data controllers’ obligation to register with the data controllers’ registry system, “VERBIS”. According to the DPB’s Decision, registration obligations for the data controllers below have started.

MAJOR AMENDMENTS INTRODUCED TO RULES GOVERNING TRAFFIC IN THE TURKISH STRAITS:

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE IMPOSES RESTRICTIONS ON DETERMINATION OF CONTRACT VALUES IN FOREIGN CURRENCY OR INDEXED TO A FOREIGN CURRENCY:

Presidential Decree dated 13 September 2018 brought restrictions to agreements denominated in foreign currencies or indexed to foreign currencies concluded between real persons and legal entities residing in Turkey. The Ministry of Treasury and Finance has yet to publish any exceptions to this rule and the Minister has declared that the relevant regulation will soon be published.

DATA PROTECTION BOARD PUBLISHES THE LATEST ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS: CONTROLLER RECEIVES TRY 200,000 FINE:

The Turkish Data Protection Board (“DPB”), the decision making body of the Turkish Data Protection Authority (“DPA”), has recently published on its website a number of enforcement actions it has taken against the data controllers for the breach of the Turkish Personal Data Protection Law (“Data Protection Law”).

DATA PROTECTION BOARD ANNOUNCES REGISTRATION OBLIGATIONS WILL START IN OCTOBER:

A series of decisions by the Data Protection Board (“DPB”) in relation to the obligation to register with the Data Controllers’ Registry (“Registry”) were recently published in the Official Gazette. The decisions set out new exemptions from registration obligations and provide the timeline for registration with the Registry.

DATA PROTECTION AUTHORITY DECLARES THE CONTRACTUAL CLAUSES TO BE UTILISED IN CROSS-BORDER DATA TRANSFERS:

Turkish legislation on personal data protection continues to develop with the resolutions and declarations of the Turkish Data Protection Authority (“DPA”). The recent developments shed light on the transfer of personal data outside Turkey without relying on the explicit consent of the data subject and the data controllers who will be kept exempt from the obligation to register with the Data Controllers’ Registry (“Registry”).

THE GOVERNMENT DOUBLED THE MINIMUM LIMITS OF MANDATORY COVER FOR SHORE FACILITIES MARINE POLLUTION LIABILITY INSURANCE:

THE RECENT LEGISLATION ON STOWAWAYS: IS THIS A PRECURSOR TO THE UPCOMING CHANGES IN PRACTICE IN TURKEY?: