Practice Areas
Administrative Law Advisory
Support in protecting individuals' and companies' rights before administrative courts against actions and decisions of public authorities.
Last updated: · Prepared by: Av. Barış Kaymaz
Administrative law governs the actions and decisions of public authorities, judicial review of their legality, and the state's liability, with procedure set out in the Administrative Procedure Law No. 2577.
Deadlines for challenging administrative acts are short and strict; missing them results in dismissal on procedural grounds regardless of the act's legality, making prompt assessment essential once an administrative decision is received.
Annulment Action
An annulment action challenges an administrative act as unlawful in its competence, form, cause, subject matter, or purpose, seeking its annulment; the filing period is generally sixty days from notification, though some special laws provide shorter periods. Before filing suit, an application may be made to the issuing or a superior authority requesting withdrawal, revocation, amendment, or a new act, which suspends the filing period, and a stay of execution may be requested where enforcement would cause serious and difficult-to-remedy harm.
Full Remedy Action
A full remedy action seeks compensation for material or non-material harm caused by an unlawful administrative act or action, and may be filed directly or after first obtaining annulment of the act. Such actions may rest on the administration's fault in providing a service or on strict liability, requiring a causal link between the harm and the act or action; where harm arises from a public official's personal fault, the action is first brought against the administration, which may then seek reimbursement from the official.
Objecting to Administrative Fines
The judicial remedy against an administrative fine depends on the law under which it was imposed — some are challenged before the criminal court of peace, others before the administrative court — and the applicable time limits also vary accordingly, so correctly identifying the legal basis of the fine is essential. Reviewing the stated grounds and factual basis of the sanction is the starting point for any objection.
Public Procurement Law
Law No. 4734 on Public Procurement regulates the tender procedures for public bodies' purchases of goods, services, and works. Tenderers' complaints about the tender process or outcome must first be submitted to the contracting authority and, where necessary, then to the Public Procurement Authority, with exhaustion of these remedies a precondition for administrative court action, and the applicable time limits are notably short.
Disputes Arising from Administrative Contracts
Disputes arising from administrative contracts, such as public-service concession agreements between the administration and private parties, are heard before the administrative courts, while disputes arising from the administration's contracts governed by private law fall within the jurisdiction of the civil courts. Correctly identifying which branch of the judiciary has jurisdiction is a procedural question that must be resolved before the merits of the dispute can be addressed.
Services in This Area
- Filing annulment actions against administrative acts and preparing stay-of-execution requests
- Filing full remedy actions for damages arising from administrative acts and conduct
- Handling objections and litigation against administrative fines
- Preparing complaints and appeals in public procurement matters
- Advising on disputes arising from administrative contracts
- Handling litigation against expropriation decisions and zoning plans