Legal Glossary

Attachment (haciz) is the taking control by the enforcement office, in enforcement proceedings conducted for a monetary claim, of as much of the debtor’s property, rights and receivables as will cover the debt, when the debt has not been paid on time. The debtor, as a rule, cannot freely sell or transfer the attached assets; when necessary, they are converted into money and the proceeds are paid to the creditor. The basic provisions are in Article 78 et seq. of Law No. 2004 on Enforcement and Bankruptcy (İİK). Property that the statute deems exempt from attachment, and the portion of salary and wages set aside for subsistence, are, as a rule, not subject to attachment.

A bank is a financial institution that, according to Banking Law No. 5411, covers deposit banks, participation banks, and development and investment banks and operates with the permission of the Banking Regulation and Supervision Board (Bankacılık Düzenleme ve Denetleme Kurulu). A bank to be established in Türkiye is established as a joint-stock company. Except for credit institutions and those authorized by special law, no one may accept deposits or participation funds as a regular business.

A bond is a long-term debt instrument issued by the issuer as debtor, containing the undertaking that the principal will be repaid to the investor at maturity or in installments. Under the Communiqué on Debt Instruments of the Capital Markets Board (SPK), debt instruments with a maturity of 365 days or more are deemed bonds; shorter-term instruments are regulated under separate names such as financing bills. The bondholder is not a shareholder of the issuer but its creditor; the return is mostly provided by interest or coupon payments.

The capital market is the market in which capital market instruments such as shares and debt instruments are issued and traded and in which savings are channeled through these instruments to companies and other issuers. Capital Markets Law No. 6362 does not define the market itself; it regulates the instruments, issuers, brokerage firms, exchanges and the powers of the Capital Markets Board (SPK). The purpose of the Law is to ensure that the market functions in a reliable, transparent and fair manner and that investors are protected.

A composition with creditors (konkordato) is a judicial procedure that allows a debtor who cannot pay its debts when they fall due, or is in danger of being unable to pay them, to restructure those debts through a plan that mostly offers creditors extended maturities or reductions. The plan becomes binding if it is accepted by the majority of creditors required by law and confirmed by the court (tasdik). It is regulated in Articles 285 et seq. of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law (İİK). The process runs under the supervision of a composition commissioner appointed by the court; during the moratorium (mühlet) granted by the court, enforcement proceedings are, as a rule, suspended. The aim is mostly to avoid a probable bankruptcy.

Credit is the provision of money or purchasing power to a person for a certain period on the basis of an assurance that it will be repaid, or the assumption of a payment obligation in that person’s favor. Banking Law Art. 48 treats, in addition to cash credit, non-cash transactions such as letters of guarantee, suretyship and aval as credit. In private law, the basis of monetary credit is most often a consumption loan agreement; for credit granted to consumers, the special rules of the Consumer Protection Law also apply.

A crypto-asset is an intangible asset that can be created and stored electronically by means of a distributed ledger (for example, blockchain) or a similar technology, is distributed over digital networks and can represent a value or a right. The definition was added to the Capital Markets Law in 2024 by Law No. 7518. Crypto-asset service providers are subject to the permit and supervision of the Capital Markets Board; under the Central Bank’s regulation, crypto-assets cannot be used directly or indirectly in payments.

A digital wallet is an electronic device, online service or application in which information on a payment account or a payment instrument such as a card is stored and which enables payments to be made with that information. The Central Bank’s payment services regulation defines it as a payment instrument and reserves this service for authorized payment service providers. A wallet used for crypto-assets, by contrast, is separately defined in the Capital Markets Law and is subject to different rules.

Electronic money is monetary value that is issued in exchange for funds deposited with an institution, stored electronically, used in payment transactions and also accepted as a payment instrument by persons other than the issuer. In Turkish law it is regulated by Law No. 6493; only banks, PTT and electronic money institutions that have obtained a permit from the Central Bank may issue it. The issuing institution issues electronic money equal to the funds it receives; these funds are not regarded as deposits and no interest linked to the holding period is paid.

Interest is the price paid in return for using a sum of money for a certain period or for late payment of a monetary debt, and as a rule it is calculated by applying an annual rate to the principal. It has three basic types: contractual interest agreed by the parties, statutory interest applied where interest must be paid but the rate has not been set in the contract, and default interest accruing when the debtor falls into default. Rates are not fixed; they are determined according to the contract, whether the matter is commercial and the legislation in force.

A payment order (ödeme emri) is the official document issued by the enforcement office, upon the creditor’s enforcement request in enforcement proceedings without a judgment, and served on the debtor, demanding payment of the debt within a certain period and notifying the right to object. It is regulated in Article 60 of Law No. 2004 on Enforcement and Bankruptcy (İİK); in the general attachment route, the period for payment and objection is, as a rule, seven days. In payment services legislation, the same term denotes the instruction given to a payment service provider for a payment transaction.

A payment service is one of the services listed in Article 12 of Law No. 6493 that intermediate the depositing, transfer or withdrawal of funds. They include operating a payment account, money transfer, issuing or accepting payment instruments such as cards, money remittance, intermediating bill payments, initiating payment orders and account information services. As a rule, only banks, electronic money institutions, payment institutions and PTT may provide these services; the power to grant permits and to supervise lies with the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (Türkiye Cumhuriyet Merkez Bankası).

A pledge (rehin) is a limited real right created over property or a right in order to secure a claim. If the debt is not paid, the creditor may have this property or right converted into money and obtain payment of the claim from the proceeds, according to the ranking among other pledgees, if any. The main forms are the mortgage (ipotek) for immovable property, the possessory pledge for movables as a rule, and the pledge of rights for receivables and rights. The basic provisions are in Article 850 et seq. and Article 939 et seq. of the Turkish Civil Code.

Precautionary attachment (ihtiyati haciz) is the temporary attachment of the debtor’s property, rights and receivables, in respect of a monetary claim, before the proceedings have become final and the stage of final attachment has been reached; its purpose is to protect the claim against the risk of going unsatisfied. Its general regime is in Article 257 et seq. of Law No. 2004 on Enforcement and Bankruptcy (İİK): the court issues the decision, as a rule a monetary debt that is due and not secured by a pledge is required, and the creditor, as a rule, provides security. Law No. 6183 provides a separate regime for public receivables.

A public offering is a general call to the public by any means to purchase capital market instruments, followed by the sale made on the basis of that call. Company shares or debt instruments are offered in this way to an indefinite number of investors. As a rule, a prospectus approved by the Capital Markets Board (SPK) is required; for losses arising from false, misleading or incomplete information in the prospectus, the issuer is liable first and, under the conditions in the law, other persons concerned such as the offerors and the members of the board of directors.

Security is a personal or real assurance given to secure the performance of a debt or the compensation of a loss that may arise in the future. In personal security such as suretyship and guarantee, a third party assumes responsibility for payment; in real security such as pledge and mortgage, a specific asset is tied to the receivable as security. In litigation, security may also be required for an interim injunction, precautionary attachment or litigation costs. The concept has no single general definition in the law.

A token is a crypto-asset that is created by means of a smart contract on an existing distributed ledger network, without a blockchain network of its own, and that represents a value, service or right in a particular ecosystem. There is no separate definition of a token in the Law; Capital Markets Law No. 6362 treats tokens within the broader concept of the crypto-asset. The definition of a token appears in the Capital Markets Board’s Communiqué No. III-35/B.2 on crypto-asset service providers.