Commercial Case

A commercial case is a case heard by the commercial courts of first instance concerning disputes arising from commercial life. Art. 4 of the Turkish Commercial Code divides commercial cases into two groups.

Absolute and Relative Commercial Cases

• Absolute commercial cases: Cases treated as commercial regardless of whether the parties are merchants. Matters governed by the Turkish Commercial Code (companies, negotiable instruments, carriage, insurance), pledge-backed lending under the Turkish Civil Code, intellectual property, banking and capital markets legislation fall within this scope.
• Relative commercial cases: Cases arising from matters concerning the commercial enterprises of both parties, for example disputes under a sale or services agreement between two companies.

Corporate law cases, such as annulment of general assembly resolutions and directors’ liability, are absolute commercial cases.

Special Rules in Commercial Cases

• Competent court: The commercial court; its relationship with the civil court of first instance is one of subject-matter jurisdiction.
• Mandatory mediation: In commercial cases for the payment of a sum of money or compensation, applying to a mediator before filing is mandatory; see Mandatory Mediation.
• Simplified procedure: Commercial cases whose amount or value does not exceed the statutory threshold (TRY 2,850,600 for 2026) are heard under the simplified procedure, with a shorter pleading stage and faster proceedings. The Constitutional Court rejected the challenge to this rule by its decision of 13 May 2026.
• Jurisdiction agreement: Merchants may enter into a jurisdiction agreement.
• Merchant’s duty of care: A merchant must act as a prudent businessperson in commercial matters; this affects contract interpretation and the assessment of liability.

In Practice

Before filing a commercial case, limitation periods, preservation of evidence and precautionary attachment to secure the claim should be considered. If the contract contains an arbitration clause, the dispute is resolved by arbitration rather than in court.