TURKEY Law and Practice Contributed by: Gökşin Kekevi, Yıldız Akınsal and Öykü İncekara, Özay Law Firm
sequently, the final resolution of such cases often takes between five and seven years.
accordingly, the general rules apply. Plaintiffs may therefore bring an action before the courts of: • the defendant’s domicile; • the place where the tort (infringement) was com - mitted; • the place where the damage occurred or is likely to occur; or • the injured party’s domicile. With respect to the applicable law, Article 38 of the Private International and Procedural Law provides a specific rule under which damages claims arising from the restriction of competition are governed by the law of the country in which the market directly affected by the restriction is located. Accordingly, Turkish law applies to infringements affecting the Turkish market. Article 59 of the Competition Act stipulates that anti- competitive agreements, decisions and practices may be proven by any type of evidence, establishing a broad principle of freedom of evidence. Within this framework, the parties are required to submit all evi - dence supporting their claims and defences during the pleadings stage. Where relevant documents are not in the parties’ possession but are held by third par - ties or public authorities (such as the TCA), the court may issue an official request ordering the production of such documents. Furthermore, a party may request the court to order the opposing party to produce spe - cific documents in its possession, provided that the request is supported by sufficient justification. 6.2 Legal Professional Privilege The principle of attorney-client privilege is expressly recognised under Turkish law. Pursuant to the Legal Practitioners’ Act No 1136, attorneys are prohibited from disclosing any information obtained in the course of their professional relationship with their clients. Fur - thermore, pursuant to the general principles of law, judges are required to ensure that appropriate meas - ures are taken to safeguard attorney-client privilege, including with respect to documents and electronic communications. 6. Disclosure/Discovery 6.1 Disclosure/Discovery Procedure
4. Class and Collective Actions 4.1 Statutory Basis The concept of a class action does not exist under Turkish law. However, pursuant to Article 113 of the Code of Civil Procedure, associations, consumer organisations, chambers of commerce and other legal entities may bring an action to protect the interests of their mem - bers or the groups they represent. However, the rem - edies available under this provision are limited, and it is not possible to seek damages. 4.2 Opting In or Out As stated in 4.1 Statutory Basis , Turkish law does not recognise a class action regime, and therefore does not feature an “opt-in” or “opt-out” mechanism. Nev - ertheless, pursuant to Article 57 of the Code of Civil Procedure, multiple parties harmed by the same com - petition law infringement (such as a cartel) may join together to file a joint action for damages or intervene in a pending lawsuit. 4.3 Direct/Indirect Purchasers Under Turkish competition law, no statutory distinc - tion is made between direct and indirect purchas - ers with respect to private damages actions. In this regard, the critical issue is whether a causal link can be established between the anti-competitive conduct and the loss suffered by the claimant. 4.4 Class Certification The concept of a class action does not exist under Turkish law. 5. Choice of Jurisdiction 5.1 Rules on Jurisdiction and Applicable Law There is no provision in the Competition Act governing the determination of the competent court for damages claims arising from competition law infringements;
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