Commencement of enforcement proceedings
A creditor may open a file at a competent enforcement office on the basis of an invoice, contract or account statement, without a prior judgment. The office serves a payment order (ödeme emri) on the debtor. Claims based on cheques or promissory notes follow a separate, faster procedure, and a court judgment is enforced directly through an enforcement order (icra emri).
A creditor resident abroad may have the file opened and conducted by a lawyer under a power of attorney signed at a Turkish consulate or before a foreign notary with an apostille.
Where there is a risk that assets will be disposed of, a creditor may seek an interim attachment order (ihtiyati haciz) from the court before or alongside enforcement.
Objecting to a payment order
The debtor has seven days from service to object to a payment order, or five days in proceedings based on cheques and promissory notes. Electronic service is deemed complete at the end of the fifth day after the notice reaches the recipient's electronic address, whether or not it is opened.
Where only part of the debt is disputed, the disputed amount must be specified. A denial of the signature on the underlying document must be stated expressly, and an objection to the office's territorial competence must be raised within the same period.
In cheque and promissory note proceedings, objections go directly to the enforcement court and do not stop enforcement unless the court orders a stay.
Creditor's options after an objection
A timely objection suspends proceedings based on invoices or contracts. A creditor holding a signed acknowledgement of debt may apply to the enforcement court (icra mahkemesi) within six months to have the objection removed. Otherwise, an action to set aside the objection must be filed in the general courts within one year. For most commercial, consumer, tenancy and employment debts, mediation (arabuluculuk) is a precondition of that action, and the time spent in mediation does not count towards the one-year period.
Challenging an alleged debt
A negative declaratory action (menfi tespit davası) seeks a ruling that no debt exists. It may be filed before or during enforcement, and interim measures, usually against security, may prevent payment reaching the creditor. Where payment has already been made under enforcement, a recovery action (istirdat davası) must be brought within one year of payment.
Attachment and third-party notices
Once proceedings are final, salaries, bank accounts, vehicles and real property may be attached, subject to statutory exemptions such as necessary household goods. Complaints about enforcement steps are brought before the enforcement court within seven days of learning of them.
The attachable share of a salary is set by the enforcement office and may not be less than one quarter; this rule does not apply to maintenance debts. Where goods seized at a debtor's home belong to someone else, such as a spouse, that person must assert a third-party ownership claim (istihkak) and support it with invoices or payment records.
A business receiving an attachment notice (haciz ihbarnamesi) concerning sums it owes the debtor has seven days to object; failure to object results in the debt being treated as held by that business. Meetings are held by appointment at the office in Konyaaltı.