A proposal that seeks to make amendments to Turkish energy market legislation was presented to the Turkish Parliament on 16 November 2021. In this alert, we only summarize the general content and the purpose of the Legislative Proposal. We will publish a detailed note after the enactment of amendments. Please stay tuned.

Operations for the allocation of ".tr" domain names in Turkey have been managed by the Middle East Technical University since 1991, through the platform called Nic.tr. Pursuant to Article 35 of the Electronic Communication Law No. 5809, the Ministry of Communication and Substructure decided that the management and allocation of ".tr" domain names will be undertaken by the Information Technologies and Communication Authority.

The most recent Turkish Competition Board decisions once again show the Board’s sensitivity regarding any irregularities in dawn raids and particularly its zero tolerance policy regarding any data wiping during on-site inspections. Last week, four new reasoned decisions on obstructions of on-site inspections were published on the Turkish Competition Authority’s website. The Board imposed administrative fines for obstructing on-site inspections on Eti Food Industry and Trade Inc., Istanbul Fertilizer Industry Inc., UNMAŞ Bakery Products Industry and Trade Inc., and Çiçek Sepeti Internet Services Inc. with its decisions numbered 21-24/278-123, 21-38/544-265, 21-26/327-152, and 21-27/354-173, respectively. The decisions have one thing in common: in all four cases, employees of the said undertakings’ deleted certain WhatsApp conversations during the on-site inspections.

Recent development

The expansion of the scope of application of the e-Hearing System, which enables participation in hearings by means of audio and video transmission in civil proceedings, has been on the agenda for quite some time. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, important steps have been taken to expand the e-Hearing System and provide online access to more courts. In this regard, the Ministry of Justice initiated the pilot applications of the e-Hearing System on 15 September 2020. As of 9 November 2021, the e-Hearing System has been implemented in all provinces, and online access is now available to 1,400 civil courts.

With its decision published in the Bulletin dated November 11, 2021 and No. 2021/57, the Capital Markets Board of Turkey decided that the sales can commence until December 1, 2021 for initial public offerings to take place with offering circulars covering the half year financial statements for 2021.

On 5 November 2021, the Ministry of Trade amended the Customs Regulation and Inward Processing Regime Communiqué (Export: 2006/12). The amendments specify the cases where proof of origin is not required and introduce additional periods for the inward processing permit documents and permits, and the subsequent submission of documents evidencing the origin of the goods. 

The European Court of Human Rights has published a new decision relating to freedom of expression. In the decision, the imprisonment of the applicant by a Turkish court for insulting the president of the Republic of Turkey was found to constitute a violation of his right to freedom of expression. The European Court of Human also stated that affording increased protection to a state president by means of special legal provisions is not compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. 

The Turkish Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Authority has published announcements on the authorized laboratories, support of healthcare professionals attending scientific meetings, European Database on Medical Devices, drugs supplied from abroad, and Social Security Institution Communiqué on Health Practices.

Recent development | The Regulation on the Amendment of the Regulation regarding the Procedures and Principles on Implementation of the Electronic Signature Law prepared by the Information Technologies and Communication Authority entered into force on 15 October 2021 after being published in the Official Gazette.

On 1 October 2021, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) published the Uniform Rules for Digital Trade Transactions. The Rules define digital trade transaction, set out principles that are applicable to each party of a digital transaction and regulate the presentation of electronic records as evidence in transactions.