Competition Law in Turkey

The statutory basis for Turkey’s competition law regime is Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition (Law No. 4054). Law No. 4054 finds its underlying rationale in article 167 of the Turkish Constitution, which authorizes the state to take appropriate measures to secure the competitive functioning of the markets and to prevent the formation of monopolies or cartels.  Law No. 4054 applies to individuals and companies alike and even to public corporations if they act as an undertaking within the meaning of Law No. 4054.

The national competition authority for enforcing the provisions of Law No. 4054 in Turkey is the Turkish Competition Authority (Authority). The Authority has administrative and financial autonomy. It consists of the Turkish Competition Board (Board), Presidency and service departments.

Law No. 4054 prohibits the following infringements: (i) agreements, concerted practices and decisions restricting competition, (ii) abuse of dominant position, and (iii) mergers and acquisitions significantly impeding effective competition in Turkey. Turkish competition law is largely influenced by the EU legislative framework. The development of the Turkish legislation goes hand in hand with Turkey’s membership journey to the EU and Turkey’s accession to the Customs Union in between. Therefore, Turkish competition law is akin to its European counterpart in very significant aspects. Yet, considering that competition law development is fast-paced, and case-law driven, differences may arise between the applications of the legislative framework for the two competition law enforcers in question: the Board and the Commission.

For more information on competition law in Turkey, please feel free to reach out to ELIG Gurkaynak at +90 212 327 1724 or through gonenc.gurkaynak@elig.com.