New Development
In its decision dated December 4, 2024 and numbered 2023/182 E., 2024/203 K. (“Decision“), the Constitutional Court concluded that the rule stipulating that the monetary limits for an appeal request should be based on the amount on the date of the judgement is unconstitutional. The Constitutional Court found that this rule disproportionately and excessively restricts the right to request a review of the judgement. The Decision, which annuls the relevant regulation, was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Türkiye (“Official Gazette“) on January 30, 2025.
Annulment Application
In the annulment application, it was argued that paragraph (2) of Additional Article 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100 (“CCP“) is unconstitutional, as it contradicts the principles of equality and the freedom to seek rights.
The regulation in question sets the monetary limits for appeal requests against civil court decisions. According to these provisions, the monetary limit for an appeal request is determined based on the amount on the date of the judgement.
In the application to the Constitutional Court, it was argued that the monetary limit for appeal requests, which is adjusted annually according to the revaluation rate between the filing of the lawsuit and the resolution of the dispute, may change. Consequently, a dispute that is eligible for appeal at the time the lawsuit is filed may lose this eligibility if the disputed amount falls below the monetary limit at the time of the judgement. This situation is deemed incompatible with the right of access to the court, the right to request a review of the judgement, and the principles of the rule of law.
What Did the Constitutional Court Decide On?
In the Decision, the Constitutional Court determined that the parties to the lawsuit were forced to bear the entire burden arising from economic inflation, as the value of the goods or receivables subject to the lawsuit remained the same, while the monetary limit for appeal request was updated in accordance with inflation. The Decision concluded that the limitation imposed on the right to request a review of the judgement is disproportionate and excessive. Consequently, the Constitutional Court annulled the related parts of Additional Article 1, Paragraph 2 of the CCP, which stipulated that the monetary limits for filing an appeal against civil court decisions should be based on the amount on the date of the judgement.
The Decision can be accessed here.
Conclusion
With this Decision, the Constitutional Court has annulled the relevant provisions within paragraph 2 of Additional Article 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure. As a result, the regulation that required monetary limits for appeal applications against civil court decisions to be based on the amount at the date of the judgement has been abolished. The annulment decision will enter into force on October 30, 2025, nine months after the date of publication of the Decision in the Official Gazette (January 30, 2025).
