Turkish Constitutional Court Considers Timeline For Appealing Jurisdiction And Competence Decisions

The Constitutional Court, with its decision published in Official Gazette number 29633 on 23 February 2016, struck out part of Article 20(1) of the Turkish Code of Civil Procedure ("Code") on the grounds that it exceeds its aims and restricts the right to legal remedies (Decision numbered E. 2015/96, K. 2016/9, dated 10 February 2016). According to the article, if a court gives a decision about jurisdiction or competence, parties are allowed two weeks to appeal, beginning on the decision's date. The court ruled to strike out the phrase which states the appeal period begins on the decision's date.

Under the Code, parties can object to a court's jurisdiction or competence at any stage of litigation. The court can choose to render its decision based on the casefile alone, without the parties being present at the court. The court is also not legislatively required to pronounce or serve its decision to the parties. Under the Code, once a jurisdiction or competence