Enforcing a Foreign Judgment or Arbitral Award in Turkey: What Actually Gets Refused, and Why

A judgment from London, Dubai or Frankfurt has no direct effect in Turkey. Before it can reach a debtor's Turkish bank account or real estate, a Turkish court must declare it enforceable. That declaratory case is called tenfiz. Arbitral awards follow a parallel but distinct route. The essential point, and the one that surprises most foreign creditors, is this: the Turkish court will not reopen the merits of your dispute. The grounds for refusing enforcement are few and specific, and most files that fail could have been saved by checks made before filing.

Two regimes, one shared principle

Foreign court judgments are enforced under Articles 50 to 59 of the Turkish Private International Law Act (Law No. 5718, known as MÖHUK). Foreign arbitral awards are enforced primarily under the New York Convention of 1958, to which Turkey has been a party since 1992.

Both regimes rest on the prohibition of révision au fond: the Turkish judge asks whether the decision may be enforced, not whether it was correctly decided. The Court of Cassation applies this strictly. In a 2012 unification decision it went as far as holding that a foreign judgment which contains no reasoning at all is not, for that reason alone, contrary to Turkish public policy. A creditor therefore does not need to win the case twice. What the creditor needs is a file that answers five questions cleanly.

The five questions a Turkish court asks

Is the judgment final? The judgment must be final and enforceable under the law of the country where it was rendered, and this must be documented with a certificate of finality. Default judgments qualify, provided service was properly made.

Is there reciprocity? Enforcement requires a treaty between Turkey and the state of origin, a statutory basis in that state, or de facto reciprocity established in practice. The assessment is made country by country, and for federal systems sometimes state by state. Reciprocity is settled with many jurisdictions, including Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and several Gulf states. For others it has been genuinely debated in the case law; England is the best-known example. This is the first thing to verify before filing, not after.

Did the dispute fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of Turkish courts? Disputes concerning rights in rem over immovable property located in Turkey belong exclusively to Turkish courts; a foreign judgment on such a matter will not be enforced. Separately, the defendant may object that the foreign court assumed jurisdiction without any genuine connection to the dispute or the parties.

Does the result offend public policy? The bar is high in principle: enforcement is refused only where the outcome is irreconcilable with fundamental values of Turkish law. In commercial practice the recurring battlegrounds are punitive damages and interest rates far above what Turkish law would allow. The usual outcome is partial refusal, with the compensatory core of the judgment surviving.

Was the defendant heard? If the defendant was not duly summoned or was otherwise deprived of the opportunity to defend the case, enforcement is refused, but only if the defendant raises this objection. In the files we handle, defective service is the single most common reason enforcement fails. Reviewing the full service record before filing is worth more than any argument made afterwards.

Arbitral awards travel better

The New York Convention grounds broadly mirror the above, with one practical difference: no reciprocity hurdle arises for awards rendered in contracting states, and nearly every relevant trading partner is one. Turkish courts are, on the whole, enforcement-friendly toward institutional awards. Public policy objections are raised in almost every case and succeed in very few. An action to set aside the award at the seat can suspend the Turkish proceedings, which is why the calendar at the seat matters as much as the calendar in Istanbul.

This asymmetry has a contractual lesson: where enforcement in Turkey is a foreseeable need, an arbitration clause is often the safer choice at the drafting stage.

Procedure, realistically

The case is filed before the civil court of first instance at the defendant's Turkish domicile; commercial matters go to the commercial court, family judgments to the family court. The core documents are the original or a certified copy of the judgment bearing an apostille, the certificate of finality, and sworn Turkish translations. A hearing is held and the defendant is heard.

As of July 2026, a contested first-instance tenfiz case typically runs eight to eighteen months depending on the court's docket. Appeals add time, and the tenfiz decision itself must become final before execution can begin. For money judgments, court fees are calculated as a proportion of the judgment amount, which is a real cost item to budget, though largely recoverable from the debtor. Where there is a risk that the debtor will move assets during the proceedings, precautionary attachment can be sought; whether it is granted is assessed case by case.

Questions we are asked often

Will the Turkish court re-examine whether the foreign court decided correctly? No. The merits are closed. The examination is limited to the grounds above, which is why enforcement cases are won on documents rather than on argument.

Can enforcement be partial? Yes. Severable parts of a judgment are treated separately. A punitive component may be refused while the compensatory part is enforced.

The debtor is dissipating assets. Is there anything to do before the decision? Precautionary attachment over Turkish assets can be requested. It is discretionary and usually requires security, but in the right file it changes the negotiation entirely.

Uçkun Aktaş Öksüm acts for foreign creditors and award holders in recognition and enforcement proceedings before the Turkish courts, and works with foreign counsel at the contract stage where enforcement risk should be priced in early. This note is general information, not legal advice on any specific case, and reflects the law in force in July 2026.

Consultation

You may send your questions and documents regarding your situation; enquiries are treated in confidence.