Article 54 of the Turkish Commercial Code (the ''TCC'') states that the purpose of the unfair competition articles is to ensure fair and uncorrupted competition in the interests of all participants.

The Conditions that give birth to Unfair Competition according to the Turkish Commercial Code

The conditions of unfair competition are stipulated by Article 54 of the TCC. Those conditions are as follows:

  • Behaviors or Practices that are of deceptive nature or in violation with the principle of good faith between commercial rivals or Suppliers and customers are qualified unjust and illegal.
  • For existence of unfair competition, the defaulting party does not have to be at fault.
  • Even if there does not exist any damage, unfair competition provisions still can be applicable.
  • For existence of unfair competition, a competitive atmosphere between the parties is not required.

Unfair Competition Cases Listed in the Article 55

The incidents that constitute unfair competition are listed by the Article 55 in an exemplifying fashion. Therefore, such conditions of unfair competition are not limited to these cases. 

According to this Article, the primary unfair competition incidents are as follows:

  • The advertisement and the sales methods that contradict with the good faith and other unlawful behaviorsAffecting 3rd parties for violation or termination of the contract
  • Unauthorized usage of work products of othersThe unlawful disclosing of the trade secrets or confidential information of production
  • Not complying with business conditions that are specified by law or relevant contractsImplementing terms of contract that violates good faith

The Lawsuits that can be Filed According to the Turkish Commercial Code in presence of an Unfair Competition

Any person whose customers, credits, professional reputation, business activities or other economic interests are injured due to an incident of unfair competition can file following lawsuits;

  • The declaratory lawsuit for determining whether the act is unfair or not
  • Prohibition lawsuit against the unfair competition
  • Lawsuit that regards the obliteration of the financial situation that occurs due to unfair competition
  • Lawsuit that aims the correction of statements if the unfair competition has been made through wrongful and misleading statements
  • If the prevention of violence is unavoidable, the destruction of instruments and goods which were used while committing the unfair competition acts.
  • In the event of a presence of fault, the pecuniary and moral damages can be requested from defaulting party.                

If the customers file an unfair competition lawsuit, destruction of instruments and goods that were used while committing of unfair competition cannot be requested.    

Chambers of Commerce, chambers of industry, stock markets and other Professional and economical associations that has legal power to protect its members' economic interests and civil society organizations that has given duty of protect its member's interests by their statutes and other public institutions cannot file compensation lawsuits due to unfair competition. However other lawsuits can be filed by these legal persons.

Announcement of the Decision

According to Article 59 of the TCC, upon the request of the party that prevails in the case the judge may decide to announcement of the final judgment.

The costs for announcement of the final decision, through appropriate mediums regarding which the judge will decide, will be reimbursed by the unfair party.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.