Winning a lawsuit abroad against a Turkish debtor is only half the battle. A foreign judgment does not automatically give you the right to seize assets in Turkey. To convert your foreign judgment into real money, you must first obtain a Turkish court decision on recognition and/or enforcement (tanıma ve tenfiz). Only after that can you use the Turkish enforcement system to attach bank accounts, real estate and other assets.
1. Legal Framework in Turkey
Recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments are governed by Law No. 5718 on International Private and Procedural Law (IPPL), especially Articles 50–59.
Key points:
- The process is conducted through a separate lawsuit (exequatur action) before Turkish courts.
- International treaties between Turkey and the foreign state, if any, may provide simpler or more favourable rules, and those treaty provisions prevail over the general IPPL rules.
2. Recognition vs. Enforcement (Tanıma vs. Tenfiz)
Although often requested together, recognition and enforcement are not the same:
- Recognition (tanıma) gives the foreign judgment res judicata and evidentiary effect in Turkey. This is common, for example, for foreign divorce judgments or judgments that simply determine liability. Recognition alone does not allow you to seize assets.
- Enforcement (tenfiz) allows the foreign judgment to be executed as if it were a Turkish judgment. Once you have a tenfiz decision, you can start ilamlı icra (enforcement based on a judgment) against assets in Turkey.
In commercial debt cases, foreign creditors almost always request both recognition and enforcement so they can proceed directly to collection.
3. Which Foreign Judgments Can Be Enforced?
Not every foreign decision qualifies. Under IPPL, the following conditions must generally be met:
- The decision must be rendered by a foreign court in the sense of that country’s law. Administrative decisions are usually excluded.
- It must relate to private law (civil or commercial matters). Tax, public law or purely criminal penalties cannot normally be enforced, although the civil compensation part of a criminal judgment may be.
- It must be final and binding under the law of the state of origin (no ordinary appeal pending).
- There must be reciprocity between Turkey and the foreign state for enforcement, either through a treaty, a statutory provision or established judicial practice.
For many major trading partners, including various European states, the UK and the US, Turkish courts generally accept that reciprocity exists in practice.
4. Statutory Conditions for Enforcement
Turkish courts do not re-hear the dispute on the merits. Instead, they check a set of formal conditions, typically listed in Article 54 IPPL:
- Proper service and defence rights
- The defendant must have been duly summoned or represented in the foreign proceedings according to that state’s law and must have had a genuine opportunity to defend. Default judgments rendered without proper service are a common ground for refusal.
- No exclusive jurisdiction of Turkish courts
- The subject matter of the case must not fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of Turkish courts, such as certain real estate or company law disputes closely connected to Turkey.
- No manifest conflict with Turkish public policy
- The content and effect of the foreign judgment must not clearly violate Turkish public order. Excessive punitive damages are a classic example: courts may refuse to enforce the punitive portion while allowing the compensatory part.
- Reciprocity
- As noted, enforcement requires that the foreign state also enforces Turkish judgments under broadly similar conditions.
If these conditions are satisfied, the court should grant enforcement and recognition. The debtor cannot relitigate the case or argue that the foreign court “misapplied the law”; defences are limited to the procedural and public-policy grounds above.
5. How to File a Recognition and Enforcement Lawsuit
A foreign creditor must file an exequatur lawsuit before the competent Turkish court:
- Jurisdiction
- Courts where the defendant is domiciled or resident in Turkey, or
- If there is no domicile or residence, the courts of Ankara, Istanbul or Izmir.
- Depending on the subject matter, a specialised court (commercial, family, labour, IP) may be competent.
- Key documents
- Original or certified copy of the foreign judgment,
- Document proving its finality (if this is not already written in the judgment),
- Sworn Turkish translations of all relevant documents,
- Apostille or consular legalisation where required,
- A duly issued power of attorney for Turkish counsel.
The debtor is served and may object on limited grounds (lack of reciprocity, public policy, improper service abroad, exclusive jurisdiction of Turkish courts). The court then either accepts or rejects recognition and enforcement. It cannot rewrite the foreign judgment but may allow partial enforcement, for example by excluding non-compensatory damages.
There is no strict limitation period for bringing a recognition/enforcement action, but waiting too long creates significant practical risks, such as dissipation of assets.
6. Turning the Judgment into Cash: From Tenfiz to Icra
Once the Turkish court grants tenfiz, your foreign judgment becomes functionally equivalent to a Turkish judgment. You can then:
- Initiate ilamlı icra at the enforcement office against the debtor.
- Request attachment of:
- Bank accounts (including electronic seizure through the national judicial IT system),
- Movables and receivables,
- Real estate (with seizure annotation registered at the land registry),
- Shares in Turkish companies.
In high-value disputes, creditors often seek provisional attachment (ihtiyati haciz) before or in parallel with the tenfiz action, using the foreign judgment as strong evidence of the claim, subject to a security deposit. This can help prevent the debtor from moving assets while the enforcement lawsuit is pending.
7. Practical Challenges for Foreign Creditors
Common difficulties include:
- Proving proper foreign service in a form acceptable to Turkish courts,
- Dealing with public policy objections (especially in judgments granting punitive or exemplary damages),
- Time and cost of translations, legalisation and litigation in Turkey,
- Locating sufficient assets of the debtor in Turkey once tenfiz is finally obtained.
Despite these challenges, with careful planning, a foreign creditor can realistically convert a foreign judgment into cash in Turkey by combining a successful recognition and enforcement action with a targeted enforcement strategy against assets located in the country.
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