Parliament Finally Passes the Long Awaited Data Protection Law:

The Turkish Parliament finally passed the long-awaited Law on the Protection of Personal Data which is to set forth the general framework on data protection and it currently awaits for presidential approval before being published in the Official Gazette. Meanwhile, we would like to provide an overview of the data protection landscape in Turkey before the framework data protection law enters into force.

Council of Ministers Reduces Threshold for Mandatory Independent Audits:

Arbitrator’s Fees Remain Unchanged For Another Year :

The Communique on Tariff of Fees for International Arbitration (the “Communique”) issued by the Ministry of Justice has been published in the official gazette on March 8, 2016.

Distributor and Lube Oil Licences Expanded to Include the Processing of Waste Lube Oils:

The Petroleum Market Licensing Regulation has recently been amended to extend the scope of activities that can be conducted by distributor and lube oil license holders.

Termination of Employment Agreements in Light of Art. 435 of the Code of Obligations no. 6098:

It has long been established in the Turkish labour law under art. 109 of the Turkish Labour Code no. 4857 that all notifications under the Labour Code must be made in written form, including the notices of termination of employment agreements.

Distribution of Interim (Advance) Dividends:

The Turkish Code of Commerce (“TCC”) Art.509 on dividends provides that, while the dividends can be distributed from net period profits and free reserves

Q&A on the Enforcement of Foreign Judgments/Awards in Turkey:

In order for a foreign judgment or an arbitral award to be enforced in Turkey, certain enforcement procedures must be executed.

Recently Published Regulation Sets the Legal Standards for Consumer Loan Agreements:

The Regulation on Consumer Loan Agreements was published in the Official Gazette dated May 22, 2015 (“Regulation”). Legal standards applicable to consumer loan agreements (“Agreement”) have been regulated in detail under the Regulation.

Legality of Strikes and Rights of Employers in Turkey:

The recent strikes that occurred in the Turkish metal industry have raised questions about whether these strikes were “legal” or “illegal”, and what the employers’ rights would be, when faced with such cases.

Regulation on Housing Finance Agreements Shall Henceforth Apply to Housing Finance Transactions:

The Regulation on Housing Finance Agreements was published in the Official Gazette dated May 28, 2015 (the “Regulation”), right after the Regulation on Consumer Loan Agreements (“Consumer Loan Regulation”) given that the Consumer Loan Regulation does not apply to housing finance agreements (“Agreement”).