Mediation services under Turkish law are basically the legal system’s way of saying:
“Look, going to court is slow, stressful and expensive – can we please try talking like adults first?”
If you’ve ever been in a dispute in Turkey – with an employer, a tenant, a business partner, a neighbour – you’ve probably already heard the magical phrase:
“First you have to go to mediation.”
1. So… what is mediation in Turkish law, really?
Legally speaking, mediation is defined in the Law on Mediation in Civil Disputes (Law No. 6325). In human language:
- It’s a structured negotiation with a neutral third person (the mediator),
- It’s confidential,
- It’s voluntary in terms of result – no one can force you to sign a settlement,
- But in some types of cases, going to mediation before court is mandatory.
The mediator is not a judge and not an arbitrator. They don’t decide who is right or wrong. Their job is to:
- manage the conversation,
- help you see the real interests behind the positions,
- explore possible deals,
- and, if there is an agreement, help you put it into a clean legal text.
Think of mediation as a legally organised “serious talk” with a professional referee in the room.
2. Voluntary vs. mandatory mediation: when is it “your choice” and when is it “do this or your case dies”?
Under Turkish law, mediation comes in two big flavours:
2.1. Voluntary mediation
Here, both sides say:
“Let’s try mediation. If it works, great; if not, we still keep our right to sue.”
This can be used in almost any civil or commercial dispute where the parties are free to settle: money issues, contract disputes, some family-property issues, etc. The law is happy when people solve their problems without clogging courts.
2.2. Mandatory mediation (lawsuit pre-condition)
This is where the system becomes more “do this first, or the judge won’t even look at you.”
Over the last years, Turkey has hugely expanded mandatory mediation. Today, before filing a lawsuit, you MUST go to mediation first in at least these areas:
- Labour disputes
- Employee vs employer money claims (wages, overtime, compensation, re-employment claims, etc.).
- Commercial disputes
- Monetary and compensation claims that fall under commercial courts (and even some “negative declaratory” and restitution-type cases).
- Consumer disputes
- Many consumer vs trader disputes now require mediation before court.
- New areas after reforms – for example:
- Rent disputes in many cases (especially monetary ones),
- Neighbour disputes,
- Disputes about division of movable/immovable property,
- Condominium and site management disputes,
- Certain agricultural contract disputes, etc.
In these fields, if you skip mediation and go straight to court, the judge will simply say:
“Nice story, but where is your mediation report?”
…and dismiss the case on purely procedural grounds. That part really sucks if you’ve spent time and money on filing.
3. How does a mediation case actually work, step by step?
Let’s simplify the process, whether voluntary or mandatory:
3.1. Application
- One side (often the future plaintiff) applies to the mediation bureau at the courthouse of the relevant city.
- For mandatory mediation, this is usually at the court with jurisdiction over your dispute.
3.2. Appointment of mediator
- A mediator is appointed from the official list.
- The parties can agree on a specific mediator if they want, otherwise the system assigns one randomly.
3.3. Invitation
- The mediator invites both parties to the first meeting – usually by phone, email, and sometimes via lawyers.
- If one side cannot be found or simply refuses to come, the mediator still issues a final report. That report is your “ticket” to court.
3.4. Meetings and negotiation
- In the meeting, everyone (and their lawyers) sits together. The mediator explains rules:
- Confidentiality,
- They are neutral,
- You can walk away anytime,
- Everything you say here cannot be used as evidence in court later (offers, admissions, etc.).
- Sometimes the mediator talks to each side separately (caucus), sometimes everyone is in the same room.
3.5. Time limits
The law doesn’t want mediation to drag on forever. As a rough idea:
- Commercial disputes: usually completed in around 6 weeks, extendable by a short extra period if needed.
- Labour and consumer disputes: even shorter – often around 3–4 weeks total.
So no, you are not stuck in mediation for years. If it’s not working, the mediator writes “no agreement” and you move on.
3.6. Final report
At the end you get one of two outcomes:
- Settlement reached → settlement minutes are drafted, signed by parties and mediator.
- No settlement → mediator writes an official “no agreement” report.
In mandatory cases, you cannot file a lawsuit without attaching this report to your petition.
4. What about the cost sanctions if you don’t show up?
For a long time, there was a very tough rule:
If you failed to attend the first mandatory mediation meeting without a valid excuse, and later you actually won the court case, you STILL had to pay all litigation costs and got zero attorney fees awarded.
The Constitutional Court looked at this and basically said:
“Okay, this is too much.”
So the harshest version of this rule was annulled and replaced with a more balanced approach.
What does this mean in practice?
- It is still a bad idea to skip the first session for no good reason.
- There may still be cost consequences, but the old “you pay everything even if you’re right” regime has been softened.
- If you totally ignore the mediator and don’t participate, you still send a very clear (and not very smart) signal to the judge later.
Short version:
You don’t have to love mediation. But treating it like “bullshit I can ignore” is dangerous strategy.
5. If we settle in mediation, is it really binding?
Yes – and this is where many people underestimate mediation.
If:
- the dispute is something the parties are legally allowed to settle, and
- the settlement minutes are properly drafted and signed by the parties and the registered mediator,
then the settlement can be given the same enforceability as a court judgment. It becomes an enforceable title.
In practice, that means:
- If the other side doesn’t pay after mediation, you don’t start a fresh lawsuit from scratch.
- You can go directly to enforcement proceedings based on the mediated settlement (with the necessary approvals).
So mediation is not just a “soft” handshake. When finalised correctly, it bites.
6. When does mediation actually make sense – and when does it just feel like a waste of time?
Let’s be honest:
- Sometimes mediation really helps.
- Sometimes it feels like a box-ticking exercise before you go to war in court.
Mediation works best when:
- There is an ongoing relationship – employer–employee, landlord–tenant, business partners, neighbours.
- Both sides know they will see each other again and want to avoid total destruction.
- The dispute is mainly about numbers or timing (how much, when, how to pay in installments, how to vacate the property, etc.).
- There are emotional misunderstandings that a good mediator can clear.
Mediation works badly when:
- One side only wants to delay or “check the mandatory box”.
- There is zero trust and one party doesn’t even want to sit in the same room.
- The real problem is principle, reputation or criminal behaviour – those often need courts or prosecutors.
That said, even in “hopeless” cases, mediation can surprise everyone. One hour of real conversation with a neutral person sometimes does more than two years of shouting through lawyers.
7. How to use mediation smartly (instead of being used by it)
If you’re a normal person (employee, tenant, consumer, small business owner):
- Come prepared. Bring contracts, messages, invoices. Know your numbers.
- Know your minimum. What is the least you can live with and still sleep at night?
- Don’t confess your whole life. Be honest, but remember that the mediator is not your therapist.
- Use your lawyer strategically. Let them talk when law is needed; you talk when facts and feelings matter.
If you’re a company or employer:
- Treat mediation as a risk management tool, not a personal insult.
- Set an internal policy: in what types of cases do we prefer settlement, up to what amount, who has authority to decide in the session.
- Think long-term: sometimes a decent settlement today is cheaper than a “glorious win” after 4 years and dozens of hearings.
If you’re thinking “this sucks, I don’t want mediation, I just want justice”, remember:
Justice is not always “day in court”. Justice can also be getting paid, closing a chapter, saving a business relationship – without waiting half a decade for a final judgment.
8. Final thought: mediation as a tool, not a religion
Mediation services under Turkish law are not magic and not nonsense. They are a tool forced into the system because classic litigation alone simply cannot handle the volume and speed of modern disputes.
You don’t have to fall in love with the concept. You just have to understand how it works, when it helps, and how not to hurt yourself by ignoring it.
Use mediation:
- when you want speed, confidentiality, and control,
- when you’re ready to be a bit pragmatic,
- and when you’d rather design your own outcome than roll the dice with a judge.
And if it doesn’t work? Fine. You walk out with your “no agreement” report, and the courthouse door is still there, waiting.
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