The 9th Legal Chamber of the Court of Cassation

THE SUPREME COURT HAS RULED THAT DATE OF THE LAST MİNUTES İN THE MEDİATİON PROCESS CONDUCTED VİA TELECONFERENCE İS THE DATE ON WHİCH THE SİGNATURES WERE COMPLETED.

SUMMARY OF THE DECISION

The 9th Legal Chamber of the Court of Cassation has ruled on an appeal to resolve the dispute between regional court decisions regarding the determination of the “date of the last minutes” in the mediation process conducted via teleconference. It is stated in the application that there are different regional court decisions regarding whether the date of the last minutes, which determines the start of the period for filing a lawsuit, should be the date on which the parties do not reach an agreement or the date on which the signatures are completed, in cases where mediation meetings are conducted via teleconference.

The 8th Legal Chamber of the Ankara Regional Court of Appeals accepted that the mediation process ended on the date the signatures were completed; the 29th Legal Chamber, however, accepted the date the non-agreement minutes were prepared. Due to this difference, the Presiding Judges Council of the Ankara Regional Court of Appeals sent the case to the Court of Cassation to resolve the dispute.

EVALUATION

The Court of Cassation first assessed the authority of the Regional Court of Appeals Presidents' Council, stating that the council could only determine whether there was a conflict between decisions and that there was no legal basis for it to express an opinion on which chamber's decision should resolve the conflict.

In the examination conducted from the main aspect, it was emphasized that the mediation activity was completed with the preparation and signing of the last minutes within the framework of the provisions of the Mediation Law in Legal Disputes No. 6325 and the Labor Courts Law No. 7036. It was stated that the meetings conducted via teleconference are legally valid, that signatures may be completed on different dates during this process, and that the date of the last minutes should be considered the date on which all signatures were completed.

The Supreme Court concluded that any other interpretation would restrict the parties' right of access to the courts and freedom to seek justice, and would lead to the incorrect calculation of the time limit for filing a lawsuit. It was also stated that the Ministry of Justice's Mediation Department had similarly expressed the view that “the mediation process ends when all signatures are completed.

Consequently, it is accepted that the mediation process ends on the date when all signatures are completed or deemed to be completed.

CONCLUSION AND LEGAL OPINION

The 9th Legal Chamber of the Court of Cassation ruled that, in mediation proceedings conducted via teleconference, the date of the last minutes should be the date on which the signatures were completed, not the date on which the meeting was held, on the grounds that it would restrict the parties' right of access to the court and their freedom to seek justice.

This decision is applicable not only to mediation processes conducted via teleconference but also to all mediation proceedings carried out online, such as through videoconference.