Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Türkiye

A foreign court judgment is not automatically enforceable in Türkiye. If the judgment orders payment or performance, a Turkish court usually must grant enforcement. If the judgment is relied on for its legal effect rather than coercive execution, recognition may be sufficient.

Recognition allows a foreign judgment to have legal effect in Türkiye, such as res judicata or evidentiary effect. Enforcement allows the judgment to be executed through Turkish enforcement offices. The distinction matters because a declaratory family or status decision may need recognition, while a money judgment normally needs enforcement.

The central legislation is the International Private and Procedural Law No. 5718, especially Articles 50 to 59. These provisions regulate finality, jurisdiction, reciprocity, public order, defence rights, petition requirements, court procedure and the legal effect of recognition and enforcement.

Turkish courts examine formal and procedural conditions rather than re-hearing the foreign case on the merits. Appellate practice focuses heavily on finality, proper service, defence rights, Turkish exclusive jurisdiction, public order and whether the judgment is enforceable in its state of origin. This section deliberately avoids invented case numbers. Where a case-specific filing relies on precedent, the relevant Court of Cassation, regional appellate court or Constitutional Court materials should be checked against the current file and date of publication.

The main debate concerns how strictly public order and reciprocity should be applied. In commercial cases, the practical dispute often turns less on abstract doctrine and more on documents: service papers, finality certificate, translation quality and the exact operative part of the judgment.

The judgment must generally be final under the law of the rendering state. For enforcement, the foreign decision must relate to a civil matter, not fall within exclusive Turkish jurisdiction, not be clearly contrary to Turkish public order, and must respect the defendant's right to be heard. Reciprocity may also be relevant under Law No. 5718.

Law No. 5718 does not create one single universal filing deadline for all recognition or enforcement applications. However, limitation and enforcement issues can arise from the underlying claim, the foreign law and Turkish procedural law. Delay may also affect collection if the debtor moves assets.

The competent Turkish court is determined under Law No. 5718. If the debtor has domicile or habitual residence in Türkiye, that place is relevant. If not, Istanbul, Ankara or Izmir courts may become relevant under the statutory fallback rule.

Required documents usually include the foreign judgment, proof of finality, proof of service or defence opportunity where relevant, apostille or legalisation if applicable, sworn translations, party information and asset or debtor details if enforcement is intended.

Before filing, the creditor should ask whether the Turkish debtor has assets, whether the foreign judgment is final, whether service was clean and whether the operative part is specific enough to enforce. A judgment that looks strong abroad may face avoidable problems in Türkiye if documents are incomplete.

Common mistakes include filing with an uncertified copy, missing the finality certificate, assuming apostille replaces translation, ignoring public-order issues, treating recognition and enforcement as the same remedy and waiting until the debtor has no assets left.

Will the Turkish court re-try the foreign case?

Normally no. The court examines statutory recognition or enforcement conditions rather than deciding the dispute again.

Can a foreign money judgment be collected immediately?

No. It usually needs enforcement by a Turkish court first.

Is apostille always enough?

No. Apostille may authenticate the document, but translation, finality and procedural conditions still matter.

The main risk is procedural, not rhetorical. A foreign judgment creditor should not spend months debating the merits again; the practical focus should be documents, service, finality, Turkish statutory conditions and collectability.

The correct legal route in these matters must be determined by reference to the date of the events, the legal position of the parties, the available evidence and the applicable statutory deadlines. Missing a deadline, applying to the wrong authority or presenting evidence in the wrong procedural form may cause loss of rights. You may contact Günser + Partners for an assessment of your matter under current Turkish legislation and court practice.