S7571 Law on Amendments to the Turkish Penal Code, Certain Laws, and Decree-Law No. 631

The Turkish Penal Code and the Law Amending Certain Laws and Decrees with the Force of Law, which entered into force upon its publication in the Official Gazette dated December 24, 2025, introduced comprehensive amendments to several fundamental laws, including the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law, the Law on the Bar, the Turkish Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure,

These regulations aim to accelerate judicial processes, prevent abuse, strengthen professional discipline, and combat fraud and cybercrime more effectively. The main changes are summarized below by law.

1. AMENDMENTS TO THE ENFORCEMENT AND BANKRUPTCY LAW

With the amendment to Article 134 of the Law,

• ·The persons who may request the cancellation of the auction have been clearly limited. Requests for cancellation of the auction made by persons other than those listed in the law shall be rejected by the court on the basis of the file and definitively.
• ·In the event of insufficient deposit of the security or fee, the court shall grant a definitive period of two weeks, and if the deficiency is not remedied within this period, the request shall be rejected immediately and definitively.

This regulation aims to prevent the prolongation of enforcement sales through malicious applications.

With the amendment made to Article 278 regarding the cancellation of savings,

• ·Donations and gratuitous savings made within one year prior to insolvency or bankruptcy are explicitly subject to cancellation. In particular, transactions between close relatives, low-value sales, life estate agreements, and usufruct rights will be considered gifts unless the existence of appropriate consideration is proven. This strengthens the protection of creditors against asset stripping.

  2. AMENDMENTS TO THE LAW ON THE PRACTICE OF LAW

  • ·Disciplinary penalties are defined as warnings, reprimands, fines, dismissal, and disbarment; the acts subject to each penalty are listed in detail. Making disparaging statements about colleagues in public, copying petitions, appearing in court without a robe, persistent communication via social media, and conduct contrary to obligations towards trainees and lawyers working in the office are clearly defined as disciplinary offenses.
  • ·The provisions on recidivism in disciplinary penalties have been clarified, and heavier penalties are envisaged for acts repeated within certain periods; conversely, the possibility of imposing a lighter penalty for first-time offenses has been provided.
  • ·The provisions on the expungement of disciplinary penalties from records and on the statute of limitations have also been clarified.

  These regulations aim to increase discipline and oversight in the legal profession and to strengthen professional honor and public trust.

  3. AMENDMENTS TO THE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT LAW

  • ·The regulation regarding the fees for appeals has been amended; it has been accepted that the fee will be refunded according to the rate of success of the appeal, and that statutory interest will be applied in case of delay in the refund.

  The provision that each claim in the same petition will be evaluated separately has been enacted, thereby eliminating uncertainties in practice.

  4. AMENDMENTS TO THE TURKISH PENAL CODE

  *The phrase “qualified fraud (TCK m.158)” has been removed from the scope of the list of duties. However, a transitional provision stipulates that no decision of lack of jurisdiction or reversal can be made with regard to cases currently pending, and that the trial shall continue according to the old rules of jurisdiction.

Main amendments made to the Turkish Penal Code (5237):

• ·The provision regarding security measures to be applied in cases of mental illness (Article 32/2) has been clarified.
• ·The minimum periods of stay in institutions for the enforcement of security measures (Article 57) have been regulated.
• ·The reference to the connection between the offense of insult and the provisions on advance payment and reconciliation (Article 75/6) has been updated.
• ·The penalties for the offense of negligent injury (Article 89) have been increased.
• ·It has been accepted that the penalty for the crime of abuse of trust (Article 155) shall be increased by one degree if it relates to motorized land, sea, or air vehicles.
• ·Penalties for endangering public safety (Article 170) have been increased; firing a weapon with sound or gas cartridges has been additionally regulated as a crime, and an additional increase is envisaged if the act is committed in crowded places.
• ·In the crime of establishing an organization for the purpose of committing a crime (Article 220), the penalty ranges have been increased; if children are used as tools in the crime, an additional penalty increase has been imposed on the leaders of the organization.
• Crimes related to transportation vehicles (Article 223) have been completely reorganized; separate definitions and penalty ranges have been determined for land, sea, rail, and air transportation.

5. TRADESMEN AND ARTISANS LAW (LAW NO. 5362) – PRICE LISTS

• ·Law No. 7566 regulates in detail the approval, objection, and conciliation process for price lists to be applied by tradesmen and artisans. Accordingly, price tariffs will be subject to chamber and union approval; in case of objection, the Ministry's opinion will be sought and the conciliation commission will intervene.
• ·The conciliation commission will take into account costs, average profit margins in the sector, and inflation targets included in the Medium-Term Program when evaluating price tariffs. The procedures and principles to be applied in the process will be determined by a regulation to be issued by the Ministry.

These changes have made the price determination process more controlled and predictable, with the aim of preventing arbitrary price increases.

6. CHANGES MADE TO THE ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS LAW

• ·Registration with documents that cannot be verified electronically is prohibited; identity will be verified using biometric data/passwords, and integration with the Immigration Administration has been introduced for foreigners.
• ·Operators are required to verify subscribers' activity every 3 months and impose limits on the number of lines and devices/numbers per person; high administrative fines are envisaged for violations.
• ·Lines used for criminal activities will be cut off by decision of the prosecutor/judge; a 10-day rule has been introduced for the submission of information and documents.
• ·Transition period: Some provisions will come into effect six months after publication; foreign subscribers will have six months to update their registration from that date.

7. AMENDMENTS TO PAYMENT INSTITUTIONS (6493)

• ·The use of biometric verification methods and documents with electronic identity verification features for customer identification has been explicitly stipulated.

8. AMENDMENTS TO THE TAX PROCEDURE LAW

• ·A provisional article stipulates that inflation adjustments will not be made in the 2025, 2026, and 2027 accounting periods (until 2028 for special accounting periods). This regulation will have significant practical consequences for financial statements.

9. AMENDMENTS TO THE TURKISH CIVIL CODE

• ·Regarding the right of first refusal, it has been explicitly stipulated that the right of first refusal cannot be exercised in sales made through compulsory execution and state auctions. The market value has been taken as the basis for determining the price of first refusal, and the periods have been shortened.