What is an administrative lawsuit?

An administrative lawsuit means bringing a case against State's acts and/or actions before administrative courts.

At Which court an adminstrative lawsuit can be filed?

Adminstrative lawsuits can be filed before adminstrative courts or tax courts of first instances and the Council of State.

Where can adminstrative lawsuit be filed?

The administrative court that is located in the region of the administrative authority, which made the administrative acts shall have jurisdiction over the case.
(Provided that the general provisions regarding to subject-matter jurisdiction are reserved)
 

Where are the petitions submitted?

You should submit your petition to relevant administrative or tax court if there is any in your place. Be prepared bearing in mind the fact that court fee and cost of postage are required. It would be better if you got an estimated cost from the court before filing a case.

What should I do if there is no adminstrative/tax court in my place

You can submit your petition to a general civil court of first instances.

I am abroad. Do I need to come back Turkey to submit a petition?

No.You can submit your petition to Turkish Consulates.

Against which decisions can be appealed before an administrative court?

An adminstrative lawsuit can be filed against Administrative acts and/or actions which are carried out by and adminstrative institution ( a public body;state, municipality etc.) The act in question must also a definite one. The act is deemed not be definite if it still continues or needs an approval by other authority or there is a compulsory objection procedure available before an administrative authority. If so,compulsory administrative objection procedures must be exhausted.
If you deem that your rights have been violated by an administrative action, you must apply to the relevant administration for the rectification of the situation within a year from the notification or the date they learn the action by another way and in any case within five years from the action, before bringing a lawsuit.

The time limit for bringing a lawsuit

The time limit to bring an action is sixty days for the actions brought to the Council of State and administrative courts, thirty days for the actions brought to the tax courts, unless otherwise stated in the specific Act

What can I do if a notification has not been made?

In case that you have made a request to administrative authorities for the implementation an act or taking an action that may be the subject of a lawsuit and If the request is not replied within sixty days, it shall be deemed to be dismissed. In this case, the time limit for the action runs from the date after you have made the request.

If response from the administration is not final or vague what can I do?

If the response given by the authorities within sixty-day period is not final, you may either regard this response as dismissal or you may bring an action regarding this response as dismissal or you may wait for the final response. In this case, the time limit for the action shall not run. However, the waiting period cannot exceed six months from the date of the response. However, after expiry of 6-month period if you do not bring a lawsuit within 60 day you will lose your right to bring a lawsuit.

What happens if you have not received a notification?

It is likely that the notification has been made via proclamation since you have not been found in your adress. In this case the time limit runs from fifteen days after the date following the last day of proclamation.

What happens in case that you have filed against an uncompleted indefinite administrative decision?

In case that you have filed a suit for an non-final administrative decision your petition is referred to the authorised administrative authorities. In other words your pettion is regarded as a petition adressed to the authorised administrative authority instead of one submitted to the court.

What should your case petition involve?

1-Your name, surname, ID no, open adress
2- Other party's open adress
3-Provided that they have written as clearly and summarily possible,
a- Subject matter
b- Reasons of the case
c-Your ultimate aim to bring the lawsuit
d- Legal basis
e- Your evidence
i- Enumerate your evidence in a form of a list attached to the petition
ii- Explain clearly how to obtain other evidence that you do not have at that moment
iii. The day of notification of the administrative act
iv.In tax actions, type and year of the relevant tax or tax penalty, date and number of the demand note, account number of the taxpayer, if available,
h- Relevant case law, if available ( examples of final court decisions which are similar to your case)

How should your petiton be prepared?

Your petition is your most important tool for your case. If it is too long or includes too many unnecessary details, it may harm your argument.If it is too short omitting the vital legal points that may also be a disadvantage for your claim. Thus, it is your responsibilty to ensure that your petition has been prepared carefully. İf would be better if you had an advice from a lawyer.

Is it compulsory to be represented by a lawyer before administrative courts?

No. Everyone is entitled to bring a case before a court on matters concerning him/her. However,you need to take into account of the fact that bring an action before a court may lead to serious consequences. Moreover, if you are not able to cover court expenses in the context of “legal aid” procedure, you are entitled to apply to Bar Association of your city for a lawyer to be appointed free of charge for your defence. Please refer to “ Legal Aid Leaflet” for more information.

How is a lawsuit filed?

Apply to the relevant court with your petition containing above mentioned matters. Having calculated them, court clerks will inform you about court fee and postage expenses which you must pay for. Once you have submitted your pettion to court clerical office along with receipt for the fee and cost of postage, your case is considered to be commenced. The document that will be given to you, contains the name of the court in which your case will be handled (ie.Ankara 2. Administrative Court of First Instance) and the case number. The case number consists of two parts: the first part shows which year your case has been commenced while the second part indicates which number your's is among the whole cases that has been commenced in that year within that court.( ie.2009/198) After that, you will have to keep the case number and use them in every transaction regarding your case ( ie. Ankara 2. Administrative Court of First Instance 2009/ 198)

What happens if my adress has been changed?

The court communicates with your via postal service. Thus, when your adress has been changed you must inform the court of your new adress with a petititon as soon as possible. If you are not found at your adress you are not be able to communicate with the court,.Then, you are not able to fulfil likely requestto be made by court. In that case it is decided that the action has not been brought since you have not pursued your case.

Do the administrative acts automatically stop once an administrative suit brought against it?

Bringing an action to the Council of State or administrative courts shall not prevent the execution of the administrative act which is the subject of the actio n. You must request the court for a stay of execution to be granted. If the Court decides that implementation of an administrative act will result in damages which are difficult or impossible to compensate for, and if this act is clearly unlawful, it decides to stay the execution of the act.

What does “ the stay of execution” mean?

This notion correspons to the stop of the administrative act against which you have brought an lawsuit.For instance, your house has been decided to be demolished by the local municipality.In this case you file a lawsuit aganist the administrative act before an administrative court with the aim of annulment of the act alleging that the decision in question is unlawful. Since just filing a suit itself does not automatically stop the execution of the act. You must request the court a stay of execution be granted. Otherwise, the act may be executed by the municipality resulting the demolition of your house. In that case, if you were found to be right or you won the case the justice has still not been administrated.Therefore in order to avoid this consequence you need to request a stay of execution decision from the court. In the same way, Putting the expression of “ Stay of execution has been requested”to both “subject” and “final request” parts of your petition is vital.