RECOGNITION AND ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN COURT JUDGMENTS IN TURKEY

                      Recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments have been regulated by International Private and Civil Procedure Code numbered 5718 in Turkey. The conditions of enforcement of foreign court judgments is placed in Article 50 and 54 of the code. According to Article 50 and 54, foreign court judgments must meet seven conditions to be enforced in Turkey :

- The foreign judgment must arise from a civil action: Thus, the judgment must be conclusion of a private law conflict. In this sense, one of the parties to the dispute may be a public administration or a private law person. And also, it does not matter whether the judgment was issued by a civil court or a criminal court. The important point is that the judgment must arise from a private law dispute. In addition to this, the decision must belong to the judicial power. [i]

- The foreign judgment shall be final and binding: The foreign judgment that is demanded to recognize and enforce must be final and binding. According to article 50/1, whether the judgment is final is governed by the law of foreign court. The final judgment shall be proven by a certificate of approval issued by the foreign court or by an endorsement of approval on the judgment itself.

- The existence of an enforcement decision: There shall be a judgment issued by the competent court that determines the conditions of enforcement. The judge of the competent court can analyze only the conditions of recognation and enforcement while giving a decision about it. Therefore, the court cannot examine the foreign judgment on its merits.

- Mutuality: The another condition of enforcement of foreign court judgment is mutuality. There shall be an agreement between Turkey and the foreign country, or a law or practice that provides for the enforcement of Turkish court judgments in the foreign country, which in turn allows the enforcement of foreign judgments.

- The foreign court judgment must be rendered by a competent court : If the subject matter of the foreign judgment falls with in the exclusive jurisdiction of Turkish courts, the foreign judgment cannot be enforced in Turkey. For instance, under Civil Procedure Code numbered 6100, in cases concerning rights in rem over a tenement, the court in the district where the tenement is located has exclusive jurisdiction.[ii] In the event of a violation of the exclusive jurisdiction of Turkish courts, the Turkish court shall consider the matter ex officio and will not enforce the foreign judgment. In addition to this, if the foreign judgment is rendered by a court of a country that has no real relation to the subject matter or the parties of the case, and the defendant raises an objection to this, the Turkish court will not enforce the foreign judgment.

- The foreign judgment shall not be contrary to Turkish public order : While deciding on the enforcement and recognition, the judge examines the foreign judgment in light of Turkish public order. For example, if the foreign judgment concerns a movable asset whose possession is prohibited in Turkey being awarded to the plaintiff, the enforcement of the foreign judgment would be contrary to Turkish public order. In the event that a Turkish court judgment is final and binding and involves the same parties and subject matter as the foreign judgment, the enforcement of the foreign judgment is not possible, as it would be contrary to public order.

- It must comply with the right of defence : According to article 54/ç , the defendant can raise an objection to demand of enforcement of foreign judgment if the foreign court breaks the rules about the right of defence. The situations about this kind of violation are described at the article :

-  If the foreign court does not summon the defendant in accordance with its own procedural law,

-   If the defendant has not opportunity to represent themself before the foreign court,

-   If the foreign court rendered a judgment in absentia or in the defendant's absence in violation of its own procedural law, the defendant may object before the Turkish court and prevent the enforcement of the judgment.

           As outlined above, the prerequisites for the enforcement of foreign court judgments also apply to their recognition, with the sole exception of the mutuality requirement. Mutuality is not required for the recognition of foreign judgments.

[i] However, there are some exception of this rule which is about judicial power. For example, article 30/2 of the Population  Services Act.

[ii] This rule is also accepted in International Private Law.