Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Oral legal advice, at the office or by video, is a separate item in the Minimum Attorney Fee Tariff set each year by the Union of Turkish Bar Associations. You can ask about the fee when booking. If you then decide to go to court or start proceedings, that work is priced separately in a written agreement.

A power of attorney (vekâletname) is issued by any Turkish notary (noter), using the lawyer's name, bar number and office address. If you do not speak Turkish, the notary will require a sworn translator. Outside Türkiye, a Turkish consulate can issue it; a document from a foreign notary needs an apostille and a certified translation. Check which specific powers your case needs before you go.

No one can promise a date. Court workload, delays in serving documents, witness hearings, reports by court-appointed assessors, objections from the other side and any appeal all affect timing. The Ministry of Justice publishes non-binding target durations by case type, which give a rough idea. You will be told which stages your case is likely to pass through, and the timeline is updated as things move.

When a case is filed, court fees (harç) and a cost advance (gider avansı) are paid to the court. The advance covers service of documents, court-appointed assessors, site inspections and witnesses, and must be topped up if it runs out. Enforcement proceedings have their own fees. Depending on the judgment, the losing party may be ordered to reimburse these costs.

People with insufficient income can apply to the legal aid office of the Antalya Bar Association to have a lawyer appointed, with documents showing their financial situation. Exemption from court fees and costs is a separate request made to the court hearing the case.

For certain disputes, applying to a mediator (arabulucu) is a precondition for going to court. This covers employment claims and reinstatement, commercial money claims, many consumer disputes, disputes arising from leases, partition of co-owned property, condominium matters and neighbour disputes. If no settlement is reached, the mediator's final report allows the case to be filed.

Parties with e-Devlet access can log in to the UYAP Citizen Portal (UYAP Vatandaş Portalı) to see hearing dates and documents in their court and enforcement files. Foreign residents with a foreign identification number (yabancı kimlik numarası) can obtain an e-Devlet password from PTT branches. Significant developments are also reported to you directly.

Yes. Video meetings are arranged by appointment. Sending documents by email beforehand makes the meeting more useful. An online meeting is oral legal advice in the same way as an office meeting.

Yes. Turkish law prohibits lawyers from disclosing information they learn through their work. Your information and documents are used only for your matter. How personal data is processed is explained in the privacy notice.

For official steps, usually yes: notaries and land registries require a sworn translator for someone who does not speak Turkish, and foreign-language documents go to court with a certified Turkish translation. In criminal proceedings, a suspect or defendant who does not speak Turkish is provided with an interpreter. If you need language support at a meeting, say so when booking.