Mediation
and ADR

So that the dispute can be managed before it escalates, the contract, correspondence, formal notices (ihtar), delivery and payment records, meeting minutes, commercial books and documents, technical reports and the likelihood that the relationship between the parties will continue are reviewed. The options of negotiation, mediation, arbitration, litigation, enforcement proceedings and interim legal protection are compared in terms of time, cost, confidentiality, enforceability and evidentiary risk.

At this stage the aim is to bring out not only the claim that is visible today but also the counterclaim, set-off, recourse, contractual penalty, interest, costs, security, taxes and effects on third parties.

Legal framework: Law No. 6325 Arts. 1, 3 and 16; the special law that governs the dispute.

In commercial and corporate contracts, clauses governing the stages of notice, senior management discussion, negotiation, mediation, expert determination, dispute board, arbitration or the competent court are drafted and reviewed. Multi-tiered clauses should not be left vague as to which disputes they apply to, the duration of the stages, how the mediator will be selected, the language and place of the meeting, online participation, confidentiality, cost sharing and the criteria for moving to the next stage.

Legal framework: Law No. 6325 Arts. 13–15 and 18/A/18; the relevant contract.

In private law disputes over which the parties may freely dispose, voluntary mediation can be considered before an action is filed or during the proceedings. The application or invitation text, a summary of the dispute, the framework of claim and defense, the document set, negotiation limits, payment or performance alternatives and authorization documents are prepared. Legal representation is provided at the meetings as the representative of a party; the long-term effects of offers are assessed.

• The subject of the invitation, the consent of the parties and the record that opens the process are determined separately.
• Attendance by an attorney is not mandatory in every dispute; the need for legal assistance and representation is assessed together with the consequences of the file.

Legal framework: Law No. 6325 Arts. 13–16.

In employment, commercial and consumer disputes and in certain disputes arising from a lease relationship, dissolution of co-ownership, condominium ownership and neighbor’s rights, and also where special laws treat mediation as a condition precedent to litigation, the application procedure is determined for the specific file. The application is made to the correct mediation office, with the correct parties and subject matter of the dispute; the consistency of the final record with the petition is ensured, and the procedural requirements sought when an action is filed are fully met.

The fact that an application has been made does not by itself make urgent protective routes such as an interim injunction or precautionary attachment unnecessary. The condition precedent to litigation and the need for urgent protection are examined separately.

Competent office: Under the general regime, the application is made to the mediation office at the location of the court competent to hear the dispute; if there is no office, the court clerk’s office (yazı işleri müdürlüğü) designated for this purpose is used. In employment disputes, a special rule of application applies with respect to the other party’s place of residence or the place where the work was performed.

Legal framework: Law No. 6325 Art. 18/A; Law No. 7036 Art. 3.

For companies, the signature circular (imza sirküleri), resolutions and monetary approval limits are checked; for the attorney, the special authority required for acts such as mediation, settlement, waiver and acknowledgment is checked. The person represented is also informed about the consequences of offers.

• An objection to the jurisdiction of the mediation office is made, with supporting documents, at the first meeting at the latest, in accordance with the procedure in the law.
• If the process ends because a party did not attend the first meeting without a valid excuse, the non-attending party, even if it prevails, is held liable for half of the litigation costs that the other party is obliged to pay; half of the tariff-based attorney fee award (vekâlet ücreti) determined in its favor is awarded.
• If the process ends because neither party attended the first meeting, each party bears the litigation costs it incurs in the subsequent action.
• Under Law No. 6502 Art. 73/A/2, this first-meeting sanction is not applied against the consumer.

Not attending does not mean that the action is lost automatically. The invitation, the excuse, the final record, the special law to be applied and the provisions in force on the date of the transaction are assessed together.

Legal basis: Law No. 6325 Art. 18/A/7–11; Law No. 7036 Art. 3/9–12; Law No. 6502 Art. 73/A/2; Code of Civil Procedure (HMK) Art. 74.

In disputes arising from sale, supply, distribution, service, work contracts, franchise, dealership, logistics, license, technology, shareholder, current account, invoice, check and financing relationships, claims for receivables and damages, annulment of objection, negative declaratory judgment, recovery of payment, termination of the contract, contractual penalties and security are addressed together.

In commercial mediation, focusing only on the payment amount is often not enough. The VAT and withholding tax arrangement, the delivery and acceptance mechanism, mutual release, the release of security, the removal of a pledge or mortgage, continuing orders, trade secrets and the approval of the competent bodies must be clearly regulated in the text of the agreement.

Legal framework: TTK Art. 5/A; Law No. 6325 Art. 18.

Mediation processes, both as a condition precedent to litigation and voluntary, are conducted with respect to employee and employer receivables, compensation, reinstatement claims, wages and bonuses, overtime, annual leave, non-compete obligations, termination of the employment contract and recourse relationships between employers.

Because there are special exceptions for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages arising from work accidents and occupational diseases and for the related declaratory, objection and recourse actions, not every claim should be treated as falling within employment mediation. The gross or net nature of the employee’s receivable, income tax and social security deductions, re-employment, the termination code, the employment certificate, confidentiality and the validity of the release are examined separately.

Mediation under Law No. 6356 in collective labor disputes and the process under Law No. 7036 in individual labor disputes are not the same. The application and filing time limits of reinstatement claims are examined separately.

Legal framework: Law No. 7036 Art. 3; the relevant labor legislation.

In consumer disputes such as defective goods or services, subscriptions, distance contracts, package tours, timeshares, financial services, private education, health services and vehicle and housing transactions, the competent authority, the monetary threshold, the route of the Consumer Arbitration Committee and the exceptions to the condition precedent to litigation are determined first.

Not every consumer dispute falls directly within pre-litigation mediation. Where an application to the Consumer Arbitration Committee is mandatory or the law provides a separate exception, choosing the wrong route may cause loss of time and rights.

Special provisions protecting the consumer: The sanction for not attending the first meeting in Law No. 6325 Art. 18/A/11 is not applied against the consumer. For the consumer’s mediation fee, Law No. 6502 Art. 73/A/3 provides for payment from the state budget and a limit of two hours’ worth of the fee; the general rule on costs should not be applied directly.

Legal framework: Law No. 6502 Arts. 68 and 73/A.

In contract farming, the product, quantity, quality, delivery, price, purchase commitment, inputs and financing relationships are examined. It is determined whether the dispute arises from a contract within the scope of Agriculture Law No. 5488.

• Pre-action application and the special two-week completion regime; an extension of at most one week where necessary.
• Preserving records of product delivery, quality determination, shrinkage, payment, penalty clause and insurance.
• Separate assessment of preservation of evidence and interim protection because of seasonal, harvest and spoilage risk.

Legal basis: Law No. 5488 Art. 13; the relevant regulations on mediation in agricultural production.

With respect to rent determination or adjustment, rent receivables, eviction, security deposit, ancillary costs, dues, manner of use, breach of contract, sublease, delivery of the leased property and damage claims, the necessity of applying to mediation and the litigation route are assessed.

Eviction through enforcement without a judgment is assessed separately with respect to the scope of the condition precedent to litigation in the law. The eviction date, the delivery standard of the property, handover of keys, meters and subscriptions, return of the security deposit, past and future receivables and the status of enforcement files are clearly written in the settlement agreement.

In agreements arising from a lease relationship and falling within Law No. 6325 Art. 18/B, the mandatory enforceability annotation is also taken into account; the presence of signatures alone does not remove this special procedure.

Legal framework: Law No. 6325 Art. 18/B; the relevant lease and enforcement provisions.

In disputes over the partition of property held in co-ownership in shares or joint ownership and the dissolution of co-ownership, use of independent units and common areas, dues, the management plan, site management, prevention of interference, noise, encroachment, rights of way and other neighbor disputes, mediation as a condition precedent to litigation and voluntary resolution options are examined.

Partition, sale, valuation, equalization of payments, usage and delivery schedule, taxes and fees, land registry procedures, third-party rights and the fate of pending actions are planned together. Where transfer of a property or share is required, the statutory form and registration rules apply separately.

Legal framework: Law No. 6325 Art. 18/B; Law No. 634 and the related property provisions.

Disputes concerning the transfer of real property or the creation of a limited in rem right over real property may be the subject of voluntary mediation under the special conditions provided in the legislation. No agreement is concluded without examining the title deed record, encumbrances, zoning and use status, co-ownership status, family residence annotation, authority of representation, pre-emption or public law restrictions.

The enforceability annotation of the agreement, the registration request and the review of compliance with legislation carried out by the land registry directorate are separate stages. For assets subject to special regimes, such as agricultural land, coast, forest, pasture, protected heritage areas or acquisition of real property by foreigners, the relevant restrictions are checked separately.

On the basis of the parties’ written decision and the mediator’s record, an annotation restricting the power of disposition in the land registry may be requested, limited to the process and for at most three months. If no agreement is reached, upon an agreement to remove it or at the end of the period, the removal provisions of the law apply. After the enforceability annotation, one of the parties may request registration; the review of compliance with legislation by the land registry directorate continues.

Legal framework: Law No. 6325 Arts. 17/B and 18/B.

In disputes over construction in return for a land share, contracts for work, turnkey projects, subcontractors, project management, delay, defects, acceptance, progress payments, additional work, price adjustment, delay penalties, letters of guarantee and recourse, technical and legal topics are combined in a single negotiation plan.

If the participation of technical persons such as an engineer, architect, financial adviser (mali müşavir) or valuation expert is needed, their roles, confidentiality obligations and the function of their reports in the negotiation are determined in advance. In the text of the agreement, the work program, quality criteria, inspection and acceptance method, payment milestones and consequences of default are written in a measurable way.

Legal framework: The contract and the relevant provisions on obligations, commerce or consumers.

The ground for negotiation is prepared on matters such as disputes between shareholders, management authority, dividends, the right to information and inspection, non-compete obligations, share transfer, withdrawal from or exclusion from the company, valuation, manager liability and the handover of management in family companies.

Before the agreement, the conformity of company resolutions with mandatory rules of law, general assembly or board of directors approval, signing authority, the form of share transfer, and registry and registration procedures are checked. Corporate or public consequences over which the parties cannot freely dispose are not deemed established by the text of the agreement alone.

Legal framework: The relevant company, contract and mandatory registry provisions.

In disputes connected with credit, security, suretyship, guarantee, financial leasing, payment services, insurance compensation, recourse, diminished value, reinsurance and insurance arbitration, the principal debt, interest, commission, early repayment, restructuring, the release of security and third-party liability are assessed together.

In insurance disputes, the relationship in terms of subject-matter jurisdiction, time limits and application among mediation, the Insurance Arbitration Commission (Sigorta Tahkim Komisyonu) and the litigation route is examined for the specific file. In claims arising from traffic accidents, bodily injury or loss of support, health data and calculation reports are processed securely.

Legal framework: The relevant banking, insurance and special application provisions.

In disputes over trademarks, designs, patents, copyright, licenses, software, SaaS, cloud, data processing, confidentiality and trade secrets, the cessation of use, the scope of the license, delivery of source code or data, fees, audit, past infringements and future terms of use are negotiated.

In files containing personal data or trade secrets, the confidentiality of mediation alone is not considered sufficient. Access authority, file sharing, no recording, data minimization, the retention and destruction plan and cross-border data transfer are regulated separately.

Legal framework: Law No. 6325 Arts. 4–5; Law No. 6698 and the relevant intellectual property provisions.

In private law disputes among private health institutions, physicians, health workers, patients, insurers and other parties, medical records, informed consent, causation, damage, insurance coverage and recourse relationships are assessed. In disputes connected with the act of a public hospital or public official, the competent court system and administrative application routes are examined separately.

Because health data is a special category of personal data, detailed medical documents are not requested in application and contact forms; secure document transfer is provided only after acceptance of the file and the necessary privacy notice.

Legal framework: Law No. 6325 Art. 1; Law No. 6502 Art. 73/A; the relevant liability and data protection provisions.

In disputes involving many parties, such as the project owner (employer), contractor, subcontractor, supplier, insurer, bank, guarantor or group companies, payment bargaining between only two parties may not produce a lasting result. A map of parties and contracts is prepared; which person needs to join the agreement with respect to which right and obligation is determined.

The meeting arrangement, joint and separate sessions, limits on information sharing, authorization documents, the possibility of a partial agreement and the effects of the agreement on third parties are planned in advance.

Legal framework: Law No. 6325 Arts. 15 and 18; provisions on representation and contracts.

In the settlement agreement, the identity and authority of representation of the parties, the scope of the dispute, mutual performances, amount and currency, taxes and deductions, payment or delivery schedule, bank details, security, consequences of delay and default, limits of waiver or release, confidentiality, personal data, costs, pending lawsuit and enforcement files, and the route to be followed in the event of breach are clearly regulated.

Statements of unclear scope such as “the parties have no remaining rights or claims against each other” may cause unforeseen loss of rights. A release or waiver should be framed only as broadly as the resolved dispute and the parties’ express intent.

Review the basic checkpoints before an agreement

Legal framework: Law No. 6325 Arts. 17–18/B.

The examination covers the signature structure with which the mediation agreement was drawn up, whether an enforceability annotation is needed, the court with subject-matter and territorial jurisdiction and whether the agreement is clear enough to permit compulsory enforcement. The cases in which the law treats the document directly as a document with the force of a judgment are distinguished from the cases in which an annotation must be obtained.

In the event of a breach of the agreement, the enforcement or litigation route to be followed for payment, delivery, registration, security, contractual penalty or other performances is determined. Enforceability does not by itself make valid every vague performance or one that the legal order does not permit.

We separate the general rule from the mandatory annotation: Unless there is a special requirement, a document signed jointly by the parties, their attorneys and the mediator, and, in commercial disputes, a document signed jointly by the attorneys and the mediator, has the force of a judgment under Law No. 6325 Art. 18/4 without any further annotation being required.

• Real property transfer and limited in rem right agreements under Art. 17/B: mandatory annotation from the civil court of peace (sulh hukuk mahkemesi) at the location of the property.
• Lease, partition, dissolution of co-ownership, condominium ownership and neighbor’s rights agreements under Art. 18/B: mandatory annotation; civil court of peace at the location of the property if it concerns real property, otherwise at the place where the mediator serves.
• International settlement agreements under Art. 17/A: mandatory annotation from the commercial court of first instance.
• Under the general Art. 18/2 regime, the civil court of peace at the place where the mediator serves before an action is filed; during proceedings, the court where the action is being heard.

Legal framework: Law No. 6325 Arts. 17/A, 17/B, 18 and 18/B.

That the dispute is pending before a court or arbitrators is not an obstacle to mediation. The negotiation space is reassessed taking into account the stage of the proceedings, the existing evidence, interim decisions, litigation costs, the possibility of legal remedies and the enforcement risk of the decision.

If an agreement is reached, the consequences of waiver of the action, acknowledgment of the claim, settlement, the action becoming moot, withdrawal of the request for arbitration, costs and attorney fees are not the same. The procedural act chosen must accurately reflect the parties’ true intent and the scope of the agreement.

The postponement of proceedings upon a declaration of application to mediation during the action is assessed within the framework of Law No. 6325 Art. 15/5. Settlement, waiver, acknowledgment and withdrawal of the claim do not produce the same result in terms of the parties’ intent, costs and the possibility of a later application.

Legal framework: Law No. 6325 Arts. 15–16; HMK Arts. 307–315; the procedure applicable in arbitration.

Failure to reach an agreement in mediation does not mean that the file was managed unsuccessfully. The process may narrow the issues in dispute, reveal the other side’s approach and clarify the litigation or arbitration strategy. The consistency of the final record with the subject of the claim in the action to be filed, subject-matter and territorial jurisdiction, time limits, fees, evidence, the need for an interim injunction or attachment, and the enforcement option are checked again.

Statements or offers that fall within confidentiality are not used as evidence in the action. However, a contract, invoice, correspondence, report or other evidence that also exists outside mediation does not become unusable merely because it was submitted in mediation.

Not applying and not attaching the final record are different. In a file where mediation is a condition precedent to litigation, filing an action without applying results in dismissal on procedural grounds. If the process has been completed but the final record has not been attached, the law provides for the possibility of submitting it within a one-week firm deadline upon the court’s notice.

Legal framework: Law No. 6325 Arts. 5 and 18/A/2; Law No. 7036 Art. 3/2.

Direct negotiation takes place between the parties and their representatives. Settlement is the ending of the dispute by the parties’ will; its consequences inside and outside court are distinguished. In arbitration, by contrast, an impartial arbitrator decides the resolution. Reconciliation (uzlaştırma) in criminal procedure is a separate institution from civil mediation.

• In multi-tiered contracts, the order, notices and time limits of negotiation, mediation and the move to litigation or arbitration are clearly regulated.
• Expert determination is the referral of a technical or financial matter to an expert under the contract; the binding nature of the opinion is not by itself the same as that of an arbitral award.
• In dispute boards, the effect of the decision and the objection mechanism depend on the project contract and the rules chosen.
• In a Med-Arb arrangement, the mediation and arbitration stages are separated. The same person taking on both roles is examined separately in terms of express consent, independence, the use of confidential information and the rules chosen.

Legal framework: Law No. 6325; HMK Arts. 313–315 and arbitration provisions; the contract and the rules of the institution applied.

In commercial disputes between parties located in different countries, the applicable law, jurisdiction or arbitration agreement, meeting language, translation, authority of representation, foreign exchange and payment restrictions, taxes, sanctions, data transfer, electronic signature and in which country and how the agreement will be implemented are planned together.

Whether an international commercial settlement agreement concluded through mediation falls within the Singapore Convention is not assumed without examining the commercial nature of the dispute, the international element, the exceptions, the status of the contracting state, reservations and the procedure of the country where it will be applied. For a document whose enforcement is sought in Türkiye, the provisions on subject-matter and territorial jurisdiction in Law No. 6325 are assessed separately.

The Singapore Convention excludes transactions for consumer purposes, family, inheritance and employment disputes, and certain agreements that have the character of a court judgment or arbitral award. In applying a document within the scope of the Convention in Türkiye, the commercial court of first instance and the order of jurisdiction under Law No. 6325 Art. 17/A are assessed. It is not accepted that the Convention applies automatically to every mediation document or every country.

Legal framework: Singapore Convention Arts. 1–5 and 8; Law No. 6325 Art. 17/A.

In disputes where the parties are in different cities or countries, an online or hybrid meeting arrangement can be set up. The participants’ identity, authority of representation, the absence of hidden listeners, no recording, a secure connection, document sharing, the privacy of separate sessions and the signing method are determined before the meeting.

In files that require communication in Turkish, English, German or Russian, language support can be provided. Which language the binding text is in, which text will prevail in the event of a conflict between translations, and the need for a sworn translation or apostille are decided separately.

Legal framework: Law No. 6325 Arts. 4, 15 and 18; the relevant provisions on representation and electronic signature.

Law No. 6325 is based on private law disputes over which the parties may freely dispose. A separate assessment is therefore required in the following cases:

• Disputes involving an allegation of domestic violence are not suitable for mediation.
• Reconciliation in criminal investigation and prosecution is different from civil mediation.
• Disputes over which the parties cannot freely dispose, such as annulment of an administrative act, removal of a tax penalty or review of the lawfulness of the exercise of public power, cannot as a rule be resolved under this regime.
• Personal status, parentage and mandatory family law consequences cannot be changed by agreement of the parties alone.
• Solutions that affect the rights of third parties, the registry system or mandatory rules of law may not produce effects until the relevant official procedures and approvals are completed.
• For transfer of real property and limited in rem rights, the special procedure, annotation and registration rules in the law apply.

Suitability is determined not only by the heading of the dispute but by the identity of the parties and the specific relief requested.

Legal basis: Law No. 6325 Arts. 1 and 17/B. A result relating to divorce, parentage or public policy cannot be established by agreement alone.

Confidentiality is a fundamental principle in mediation. The parties, attorneys, the mediator and other persons who take part in the process are subject to a duty of confidentiality regarding information and documents obtained in the process, unless otherwise agreed. A mediation invitation, a proposed solution, a declaration of acceptance, or documents and statements prepared solely for the process cannot, within the limits in the law, be used as evidence in a later action or arbitration, and no testimony may be given about them.

However, if a contract, invoice, e-mail, delivery record, technical report or other evidence also exists outside mediation, the mere fact that it was presented at the meeting does not by itself make that evidence unusable. Confidentiality also does not give a right to conceal acts constituting a crime, to remove mandatory reporting obligations or to process personal data without limit.

In corporate and international files, the confidentiality agreement, data processing roles, access authorizations, virtual data room, and the obligations of interpreters and technical experts should be regulated separately.

Confidentiality and the prohibition on evidence do not have the same scope. The statutory prohibition on statements and documents in Law No. 6325 Art. 5 should not be reduced to a general confidentiality agreement alone. Disclosures required by law and cases necessary for implementing the agreement are assessed separately.

Legal basis: Law No. 6325 Arts. 4–5; the relevant data protection provisions.