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Every year, Turkish courts observe a statutory recess period known as the adli tatil, during which most judicial activity is suspended. This does not mean that courthouses close. It means that most hearings are not held and most procedural deadlines are affected, while a defined category of urgent matters continues as normal.
For anyone involved in litigation in Turkey, or contemplating it, the recess has consequences that are frequently misunderstood. The most damaging misunderstanding is the assumption that all deadlines pause. They do not. Several categories of proceeding continue throughout the recess with their deadlines running normally, and in those categories the one-week extension that applies elsewhere is not available. Parties who assume otherwise lose their right to object, appeal, or defend.
At Bayraktar Attorneys, we act exclusively for foreign nationals in Turkey. This guide explains when the recess falls, which matters continue during it, how deadlines are affected, and, critically, which deadlines are not extended at all.
Quick answer: The judicial recess runs from 20 July to 31 August each year under Article 102 of the Civil Procedure Code, with the new judicial year beginning on 1 September. Courthouses remain open and new claims may be filed. Where a deadline in a matter subject to the recess expires during it, the deadline is automatically extended by one week, to 7 September. However, this extension does not apply to matters that continue during the recess, and it does not apply to enforcement proceedings or to matters before the enforcement courts. A payment order objection period expiring in August must be met in August.
Under Article 102 of the Turkish Civil Procedure Code (Hukuk Muhakemeleri Kanunu, Law No. 6100), the judicial recess begins each year on 20 July and ends on 31 August. The new judicial year begins on 1 September.
For 2026, this means:
The dates are fixed by statute and do not change from year to year. For a broader overview of the dates and their practical effects, see our guide to the judicial holiday in Turkey.
The recess is not confined to the civil courts. Under Article 61 of the Administrative Procedure Code (Law No. 2577), the regional administrative courts, administrative courts, and tax courts also suspend work from 20 July to 31 August, resuming on 1 September.
This is significant for foreign nationals, because many of the decisions that most affect them, including residence permit refusals, deportation decisions, and work permit refusals, are challenged before the administrative courts.
The Constitutional Court is not subject to the judicial recess, and periods relating to individual applications continue to run throughout.
Article 103 of the Civil Procedure Code sets out the categories of case and procedural step that continue during the recess. These are:
The final category is broader than it appears. Where a statute designates a class of matter as urgent, that designation brings the matter within Article 103 and therefore outside the recess. This is the mechanism by which enforcement court proceedings escape the recess entirely, as explained below.
Even for cases that do not proceed substantively during the recess, a range of procedural steps continues:
These provisions apply equally at the regional courts of appeal and at the Court of Cassation.
This is the aspect of the recess that produces the most costly errors, and it requires precision.
Under Article 104 of the Civil Procedure Code, in matters that are subject to the recess, where a period prescribed by the Code expires during the recess, that period is extended by one week from the end of the recess, without any need for an application or a court order. The extension operates automatically.
In 2026, this means that a qualifying deadline falling anywhere between 20 July and 31 August is extended to 7 September 2026. A party whose response petition would otherwise have been due on 28 August has until 7 September.
The extension applies only to matters that are subject to the recess. It does not apply to the categories listed in Article 103, precisely because those matters continue to be heard.
The logic is straightforward once stated, but its practical effect surprises litigants regularly. If your case is one that continues during the recess, its procedural periods continue to run normally, and no extension is available.
The most common example concerns employment claims. Employee claims arising from employment contracts are expressly within Article 103 and therefore continue during the recess. If judgment in a labour claim is served on a party during the recess, the appeal period runs throughout the recess and is not extended. A party who assumes the extension applies and files on 7 September will be out of time.
The same analysis applies to family law matters, interim measure applications, bankruptcy and restructuring proceedings, and every other category within Article 103.
This warrants a section of its own because the consequences are severe and the misunderstanding is close to universal among clients.
Enforcement offices are not courts within the meaning of the Civil Procedure Code, and the recess provisions in Articles 102 to 104 therefore have no application to them. Enforcement offices operate normally throughout the recess. Enforcement proceedings may be initiated, payment orders may be served, attachments may be executed, and sales may proceed.
Separately, Article 18 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Code (Law No. 2004) provides that matters brought before the enforcement court are urgent matters. Because Article 103 of the Civil Procedure Code brings matters designated urgent by statute within the categories that continue during the recess, enforcement court proceedings continue throughout, and the one-week extension does not apply to them.
The Court of Cassation has confirmed this position consistently. In a decision of the 12th Civil Chamber, an appeal against a regional court of appeal decision served on 19 July was filed on 3 September and was held to be out of time, precisely because the extension was unavailable in an enforcement matter.
The practical consequence: if you receive a payment order in an enforcement proceeding without judgment, and the seven-day period to object expires during August, you cannot wait for 7 September. Your objection must be filed within the seven days. An objection filed after that period does not prevent the enforcement becoming final, and the debtor loses the ability to contest the debt.
Article 104 extends periods prescribed by the Civil Procedure Code. Periods prescribed by other legislation are assessed under that legislation. The seven-day period to challenge a deportation decision, the fifteen-day periods for various administrative objections, and the periods under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Code are each governed by their own framework, and none of them should be assumed to benefit from the civil procedure extension without checking.
The Code of Criminal Procedure (Law No. 5271) contains its own recess provisions, and they differ from the civil regime in an important respect.
The difference between three days and one week is small in absolute terms and significant in practice. A party assuming the civil extension applies in a criminal matter will be four days late.
No. This is a persistent misconception. Courthouses remain open throughout the recess:
What generally does not happen is the holding of hearings in cases that are subject to the recess. A hearing scheduled in an ordinary civil case will be adjourned to a date after 1 September.
Yes. A claim may be filed at any time during the recess. What is deferred is the substantive progress of the matter, not the act of filing.
The practical position is that the claim is registered, the fees are paid, service may be effected, and the file is opened, but the first hearing will generally be scheduled for a date after the recess ends unless the matter falls within Article 103.
There are circumstances in which filing during the recess is positively advantageous, including where a limitation period is approaching, where an interim measure is required, or where the act of filing itself has legal consequences. Filing a case involves fees payable at the outset, and it is worth understanding judicial fees and advance payments in Turkey before proceeding.
By way of example, a divorce claim may be filed during the recess, but service of the petition and the scheduling of hearings will generally resume after 1 September, unless the matter or a component of it qualifies as urgent. Where an interim measure concerning custody or maintenance is required, that component can be dealt with during the recess even though the divorce itself cannot.
The recess affects foreign nationals in ways that go beyond the general position.
First, the deadlines that most commonly affect foreign nationals are frequently not civil procedure deadlines at all. The seven-day period to challenge a deportation decision, the periods for administrative objections in immigration matters, and the periods under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Code are governed by their own rules, and the assumption that everything pauses in August is particularly dangerous in this context.
Second, the administrative courts observe the recess, which affects the timing of challenges to immigration and permit decisions even though the period to bring those challenges may not itself be extended.
Third, foreign nationals are frequently outside Turkey during the recess period, which is precisely when service may be effected at a Turkish address that no one is monitoring. Service continues throughout the recess, and a document served in August starts periods running whether or not the recipient is aware of it.
The same care applies to other time-sensitive obligations that do not pause in the summer, including tax declaration and payment deadlines in Turkey.
9.1. When is the judicial recess in Turkey?
From 20 July to 31 August each year, with the new judicial year beginning on 1 September. The dates are fixed by Article 102 of the Civil Procedure Code and do not vary. In 2026 the recess runs from Monday 20 July to Monday 31 August, with the new judicial year beginning on Tuesday 1 September.
9.2. Are courthouses completely closed during the judicial recess?
No. Courthouses remain open, registries operate, enforcement offices and notaries function normally, and duty courts handle urgent matters. What generally does not take place is the holding of hearings in cases subject to the recess. Service of documents continues throughout.
9.3. Do all deadlines pause during the recess?
No, and this is the most consequential misunderstanding in this area. The one-week extension under Article 104 applies only to periods prescribed by the Civil Procedure Code in matters that are subject to the recess. Matters that continue during the recess, including labour claims, family matters, and enforcement proceedings, have their periods running normally with no extension available.
9.4. My deadline falls in August. When is it actually due?
It depends entirely on the type of matter. If your case is subject to the recess and the period is prescribed by the Civil Procedure Code, the deadline is extended to 7 September 2026. If your case falls within the categories that continue during the recess, or if the period is prescribed by other legislation, the deadline is the original date and no extension applies. This should be confirmed rather than assumed, because the consequence of getting it wrong is the loss of the right concerned.
9.5. Do enforcement proceedings continue during the recess?
Yes, entirely. Enforcement offices are not courts within the meaning of the Civil Procedure Code, so the recess provisions do not apply to them. Enforcement proceedings may be initiated, payment orders served, attachments executed, and sales conducted throughout. Separately, matters before the enforcement courts are designated urgent by statute and therefore also continue.
9.6. Is my seven-day period to object to a payment order extended to 7 September?
No. This is the single most dangerous assumption in this area. The one-week extension does not apply to periods under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Code. If your seven-day objection period expires in August, it expires in August. An objection filed after that period will not prevent the enforcement becoming final. The Court of Cassation has consistently confirmed this position.
9.7. Can I file a new lawsuit during the judicial recess?
Yes. Claims may be filed at any time. The claim is registered, fees are paid, and the file is opened, but the first hearing will generally be scheduled after 1 September unless the matter falls within the categories that continue during the recess. Filing during the recess can be positively advantageous where a limitation period is approaching or an interim measure is needed.
9.8. Do criminal cases continue during the recess?
Investigations, proceedings involving detained defendants, and other matters designated urgent continue under a duty roster. Ordinary criminal hearings are adjourned. Periods falling within the recess in criminal matters are extended by three days from the end of the recess, not by one week as in civil matters.
9.9. My employment claim is ongoing. Does it pause in the summer?
No. Employee claims arising from employment contracts are expressly within the categories that continue during the recess. This has an important consequence: if a judgment is served on you during the recess, your appeal period runs throughout and is not extended to 7 September. Employment litigants are among the most frequent casualties of the assumption that everything pauses in August.
9.10. Can I attend a hearing during the recess?
Only if your case falls within the categories that continue during the recess, or if the court has determined the matter to be urgent on the application of a party. Otherwise, hearings are adjourned to a date after the recess ends.
9.11. Does the recess affect administrative court cases?
Yes. The regional administrative courts, administrative courts, and tax courts also observe the recess from 20 July to 31 August under the Administrative Procedure Code. This is relevant to foreign nationals because immigration and permit decisions are challenged before these courts. However, the period to bring a challenge is governed by the applicable legislation and should not be assumed to be extended.
9.12. Does the Constitutional Court observe the recess?
No. The Constitutional Court is not subject to the judicial recess and its periods continue to run throughout.
9.13. I am abroad during August. Can documents still be served on me?
Yes. Service continues throughout the recess. A document served at your Turkish address in August starts the relevant period running whether or not you are aware of it. Foreign nationals who spend the summer outside Turkey should ensure that someone is monitoring the address at which service may be effected, or that a lawyer holds a power of attorney and is the designated address for service.
The judicial recess in Turkey runs from 20 July to 31 August, and in 2026 the new judicial year begins on Tuesday 1 September. Courthouses remain open, claims may be filed, service continues, and enforcement proceeds normally throughout.
The critical point is that the recess does not suspend everything, and the one-week extension is not general. It applies to periods prescribed by the Civil Procedure Code in matters that are subject to the recess, and to nothing else. Employment claims, family matters, interim measure applications, and above all enforcement proceedings continue with their periods running normally.
The clients who suffer loss in this area are almost never those with weak cases. They are those who received a document in August, calculated their deadline from the assumption that everything moves to 7 September, and were wrong about which category their matter fell into.
If you have received a document during the recess, are uncertain whether your matter qualifies as urgent, or need to calculate a deadline that falls within this period, contact Bayraktar Attorneys for legal guidance specific to your situation.
