Turn your foreign judgment into an enforceable right in Türkiye.
Foreign court judgments and arbitral awards do not automatically take effect in Türkiye. Through recognition and enforcement proceedings, we transform your judgment into a court decree that is valid and enforceable under Turkish law, and we handle the entire process from a single source, all the way through to collection.
A judgment you have won is worth nothing until it is enforced
Winning a case abroad does not mean you have secured your receivable. For a foreign court judgment or arbitral award to take effect in Türkiye, it must be recognised or enforced by a Turkish court. This process requires the meticulous handling of technical conditions such as the competent court, finality, reciprocity, and public policy.
We handle recognition and enforcement actions across a broad spectrum, from German court judgments to ICC, DIS, and ISTAC arbitral awards. We manage the process from a single point of contact, from reviewing the judgment through to pending execution proceedings; we transform your decision into a right that can be collected in Türkiye.
For Which Decisions Does It Apply?
The types of decisions our recognition and enforcement service typically covers.
Foreign Court Judgments
Recognition and enforcement in Türkiye of foreign court judgments concerning debt, damages, and commercial law.
Arbitral Awards
Enforcement of ICC, DIS, ISTAC, and ad hoc arbitral awards under the New York Convention.
Cross-Border Collection
Post-enforcement execution proceedings, asset investigation, and follow-through until the receivable is actually collected.
How Does the Process Work?
The three-stage path to enforcing a foreign judgment in Türkiye.
01 · Judgment Review
We analyse the finality of the judgment, the reciprocity requirement, and any public policy obstacles; we deliver an enforceability opinion.
02 · Litigation Process
We prepare the apostille, translation, and complete document set; we focus on swiftly concluding the recognition and enforcement action before the competent court.
03 · Execution & Collection
With the enforcement judgment we initiate execution proceedings, investigate the debtor's assets, and manage the process until collection is complete.
Experience that reads two legal systems within a single file
Recognition and enforcement files advance at the intersection of the law under which the foreign judgment was rendered and Turkish procedural law. With our team in Berlin and İstanbul, we work with a full understanding of the file at the judgment's source; we manage the process in two languages at once, not through a translator.
- Command of reciprocity practice in German court judgments
- Experience enforcing arbitral awards under the New York Convention
- Complete preparation of the apostille, translation and document set
- Integration with post-enforcement execution and asset investigation
- Process management in Turkish, German and English
Other Dispute Resolution Services
When needed, the same team can seamlessly extend its work to our other solutions in this area.
Related Areas & Legislation
The focus areas, practice areas, desks and legislation connected with this service.
The Team Delivering This Service
With our multilingual team of lawyers, well-versed in Turkish and German law, we are by your side.
Related Publications
Fresh perspectives and guides from the Knowledge Centre.
Recognition gives a foreign judgment the force of a final judgment and of conclusive evidence in Türkiye. Enforcement does that and adds one thing more: it makes the judgment capable of being executed here by compulsion.In practice the choice follows from what you need to happen. If money has to be collected, property delivered or an obligation performed against the other side’s will, enforcement is the only route.…
Not automatically. Turkish courts have generally accepted that de facto reciprocity exists with Germany, so a German judgment that meets the conditions can be enforced by a Turkish court — but reciprocity is assessed case by case under Article 54 of the Act on Private International and Procedural Law (MÖHUK No. 5718). The judgment must be final, the defendant’s defence rights must have been respected, and it must no…
Enforcement of a foreign arbitral award in Türkiye runs under the 1958 New York Convention, to which Türkiye is a party; where a case falls outside the Convention, the provisions of the Act on Private International and Procedural Law (MÖHUK, No. 5718) apply instead.The basic conditions are a valid arbitration agreement in writing, respect for the parties’ rights of defence and to equal treatment, an award that has b…
There is no single figure. It depends on the court’s caseload, on the objections the other side raises, and on how complete your document set is. The most common cause of delay is entirely within your control: the foreign judgment not being submitted from the outset with its proper certification (apostille) and sworn translations.With a well-prepared file — including the certificate that the judgment is final and th…
An enforcement decision gives the foreign judgment the force of a Turkish court judgment, and you collect on it through judgment-based execution proceedings. Those run through the enforcement office under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law (İİK, No. 2004): an execution order is served on the debtor, and if payment is not made the file moves into compulsory execution.At that stage attachment can be applied to the deb…
Get the right legal support for Recognition & Enforcement.
Let us determine the solution best suited to your needs, together with our experience in Türkiye and the DACH region.