Defending Against Enforcement of a Foreign Judgment
If someone is trying to enforce a foreign court judgment against you in Türkiye (Turkey), you can defend the case, but within narrow limits. A Turkish court does not re-try the dispute; it checks whether a short list of legal conditions is met, so your defences track those conditions, not the facts you already lost on abroad. This guide walks through each ground you can raise, how the simplified procedure works, and where a court judgment differs from an arbitral award or a foreign divorce. It is written for the party facing enforcement, and also for the judgment-holder who wants to know what objections to expect. The law here is demanding but predictable, and understanding it early is what shapes a realistic strategy.
Can you actually stop a foreign judgment being enforced in Türkiye?
Yes, you can defend the case, but you defend it on conditions, not on the merits. When a foreign court judgment is brought to Türkiye, the holder does not simply register it. They must file an enforcement (tenfizTenfizEnforcement of a foreign judgment in TürkiyeThe Turkish court decision that makes a foreign judgment enforceable in Türkiye — the step that lets you actually collect.Glossary →) action, meaning a Turkish court case that asks a Turkish judge to make the foreign judgment executable in Türkiye like a local one. As the party facing that action, you are entitled to appear and object.
What you cannot do is re-argue the case you already lost abroad. The Turkish court will not look again at who breached the contract or how the damages were calculated. It looks only at whether the legal conditions for enforcement are satisfied. That is the honest framing to start from: these are limited, condition-based defences, not a fresh hearing.
Because the door is narrow, the stronger approach for a defendant is usually to find a genuine gap in the conditions rather than to relitigate. The rest of this guide is really a map of where those gaps can be.
Which of these describes your situation?
What is the Turkish court actually deciding?
The court is deciding one question: does this foreign judgment meet the statutory conditions to be enforced here? It is not deciding whether the foreign judgment was correct. Turkish law expressly rules out a re-examination of the merits, a principle courts call no révision au fond (no review of the substance).
This cuts both ways. It limits your defences, but it also keeps the case focused and comparatively fast. You are not building a full trial; you are testing the judgment against a checklist. For a deeper look at that checklist, see our guide on the conditions to enforce a foreign judgment.
What grounds can you raise to defend the case?
Your defences track the enforcement conditions. If the person seeking enforcement cannot show every condition is met, or if you can show one is missing, the court can refuse. The main grounds come from a single provision, plus the finality requirement.
| Ground you can raise | What it means | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| No reciprocity | There is no reciprocity (mütekabiliyet) between Türkiye and the country where the judgment was given, whether by treaty, by statute, or by actual de facto practice. | MÖHUK art. 54 |
| Exclusive Turkish jurisdiction | The dispute is one that Turkish law reserves for the exclusive jurisdiction of Turkish courts, so a foreign court should never have decided it. | MÖHUK art. 54 |
| Public policy breach | Enforcing the judgment would be manifestly contrary to Turkish public policy (kamu düzeni), the core principles of the Turkish legal order. | MÖHUK art. 54 |
| Defence rights violated | The defendant was not properly summoned or represented before the foreign court, or was otherwise denied the right to defend, in breach of due service. | MÖHUK art. 54 |
| Judgment not final | The foreign judgment is not final and binding, for example it is still open to, or under, appeal in its home country. | MÖHUK art. 50 |
A few of these deserve a closer word:
- Reciprocity. This is a real gate for enforcement, but note it is defined broadly, and it can exist through settled practice, not only a treaty. Whether your country qualifies is a factual question worth checking early; see recognition versus enforcement for why this ground behaves differently in a recognition case.
- Public policy. The bar is high. It is a manifest, exceptional conflict with fundamental Turkish principles, not a route to re-argue that the result was harsh or unfamiliar. We unpack it in public policy (kamu düzeni) and refusal.
- Defence rights. This is typically raised by the very party who lost abroad, and it targets how the foreign proceedings were served and conducted, not their outcome.
Can you argue the foreign court got the facts or the law wrong?
No, and this is the point defendants most often misjudge. Turkish law does not let the enforcement court re-weigh the evidence, reinterpret the contract, or substitute its own view of the merits. Even a decision you consider plainly mistaken on the facts is not, by itself, a defence to enforcement.
There is one narrow bridge between substance and enforcement: public policy (kamu düzeni). If a specific outcome collides with the fundamental principles of Turkish law, that can be a refusal ground under MÖHUKMÖHUKTurkish Private International Law Act No. 5718The Turkish statute that decides which country's law applies to a cross-border matter, and how foreign judgments are recognised and enforced here.Glossary → art. 54. But public policy is a shield against manifest conflict with core values, not a back door to relitigate the case. Treating it as a general appeal is the fastest way to lose the argument.
Which court hears the case, and can you object on jurisdiction?
Yes, jurisdiction is a live procedural angle. The enforcement action is not filed just anywhere. The law fixes which Turkish court is competent, and filing in the wrong one gives you a clean procedural objection.
So if the claimant sues in the wrong location, or before a civil court when the matter is commercial, you can raise a competent-court or jurisdiction objection. This rarely defeats enforcement outright, but it can reset the case to the correct forum and buy time to prepare your substantive grounds. For the full map of forum rules, see which court and where.
If I can show the foreign court got the facts or the law wrong, the Turkish court will look at the case again.
It will not. Turkish law rules out a re-examination of the merits, the principle of no révision au fond (MÖHUK art. 55). The judge tests the judgment against the conditions in MÖHUK arts 50 and 54 — validity, finality and fairness of process — not whether the result was correct.
There is no treaty between Türkiye and my country, so a judgment from home cannot be enforced here.
Reciprocity under MÖHUK art. 54 is defined broadly. It can exist by treaty, by statute, or through settled de facto practice. Whether your country qualifies is a factual question worth checking early, and in a recognition (tanımaTanımaRecognition of a foreign judgment in TürkiyeThe court decision that makes a foreign judgment legally effective in Türkiye as proof — without, by itself, making it enforceable.Glossary →) case reciprocity is not required at all (MÖHUK art. 58).
Public policy is a general fairness argument, so I can use it to show the outcome was unjust.
The bar is high. Public policy (kamu düzeni) means a manifest, exceptional conflict with the fundamental principles of the Turkish legal order under MÖHUK art. 54. It is not a route to re-argue that the result was harsh or unfamiliar, and treating it as a general appeal is the fastest way to lose the argument.
I am not in Türkiye and I do not intend to take part, so I can ignore the papers.
If you do not appear and defend, the court can still assess the conditions and, if they are met, grant enforcement. The judgment is then executed against your Turkish assets through the enforcement offices under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act (İİKİİKEnforcement and Bankruptcy Law No. 2004The Turkish statute governing how debts are collected by force — enforcement proceedings, attachment, sale and bankruptcy.Glossary →, Law No. 2004). A power of attorney (vekâletnameVekâletnamePower of attorneyThe notarised document that authorises a Turkish lawyer to act for you — the reason most matters can be handled without you travelling.Glossary →) lets a Türkiye-bar lawyer run the matter without you travelling.
Do the defences change if it is recognition (tanıma), not enforcement (tenfiz)?
Yes, in one important way. Recognition (tanıma) asks a Turkish court to accept the foreign judgment for its res judicata and evidentiary effect, meaning it settles the matter and can be relied on, without necessarily making it executable against assets. Enforcement (tenfiz) goes further and makes the judgment executable in Türkiye like a Turkish one.
The practical consequence for a defendant is direct: in a recognition case you cannot raise the "no reciprocity" defence, because reciprocity is not a condition there. Your remaining grounds, exclusive Turkish jurisdiction, public policy, denied defence, and finality, still apply. This distinction matters most in family and status matters, where recognition alone is often what the other side needs. Our guide on recognition versus enforcement spells out which route bites.
A quick note on foreign divorce: a foreign divorce can be recognised through a Turkish family court under MÖHUK art. 58, or, since 2017, registered directly in the Turkish population register through the civil registry or a consulate under the Population Services Act (Law No. 5490), art. 27/A, without a court case, when the conditions are met. If your matter is a divorce or personal-status issue, that administrative route changes the picture; it is worth taking specific advice.
What if it is an arbitral award, not a court judgment?
Then a different regime applies, and you should not carry over the court-judgment rules. Foreign arbitral awards are enforced primarily under the 1958 New York Convention, to which Türkiye is a party, alongside MÖHUK arts 60 to 63. The MÖHUK arts 50 to 59 conditions do not govern awards.
For a defendant, the message is sobering: the grounds to resist an award are deliberately tight, and "the arbitrators got it wrong" is not among them. The realistic openings are procedural or jurisdictional, for example a defective arbitration agreement or a genuine denial of a fair chance to present your case. We cover the enforcement side in enforcing a foreign arbitral award under the New York Convention.
Can you appeal a tenfiz decision, and how long does it take?
Yes. A tenfiz judgment is not the end of the road for either side. It can be challenged through the ordinary Turkish appeal channels, first regional appeal (istinafİstinafAppeal to the regional court of appealThe first level of appeal in Türkiye, heard by a regional court of justice that can review both the facts and the law.Glossary →), then, where available, the Court of Cassation (temyiz). So if the first-instance court grants enforcement, you may be able to appeal; if it refuses, the claimant may.
Timelines are estimates only, and no lawyer can promise a result or a date. As a rough guide to the first-instance stage:
- An uncontested tenfiz action often runs about 6 to 10 months.
- A contested one, with real defences and appeals in play, commonly runs 12 to 24 months.
- Administrative divorce registration under art. 27/A tends to be much quicker, weeks to a few months.
Once a tenfiz judgment becomes final, it is executed against assets in Türkiye through the enforcement offices under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act (İİK, Law No. 2004), the same machinery used for a Turkish judgment. A power of attorney (vekâletname) lets a Türkiye-bar lawyer run the whole matter remotely, so neither defending nor pursuing enforcement requires you to travel.
If you are facing, or planning, a tenfiz action, the pillar overview of recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments sets out the full path, and you can tell us about your matter to get a specific read on your position.
This article is general information about Turkish law and is not legal advice; for advice on your specific situation, consult a qualified lawyer.
Sets the tenfiz route and finality requirement, the competent court, the enforcement conditions you can attack, the no-review-of-merits rule, and recognition without reciprocity.
Governs foreign arbitral awards separately, with the refusal grounds in art. 62 mirroring New York Convention Art. V, including public policy under art. 62/1-b.
Since 2017 it allows a foreign divorce to be registered directly in the Turkish population register through the civil registry or a consulate, without a court case, when the conditions are met.
Once a tenfiz judgment is final, this is the machinery through which it is executed against assets in Türkiye, the same one used for a Turkish judgment.
What to gather before you speak to a lawyer
The defences are condition-based and the simplified procedure moves quickly, so the file counts for more than argument. Collect these before your first conversation.
Frequently asked questions
Can I simply ignore a tenfiz action if I disagree with the foreign judgment?
Ignoring it is risky. If you do not appear and defend, the court can still assess the conditions and, if they are met, grant enforcement, after which the judgment is executed against your Turkish assets through the enforcement offices. Because the defences are condition-based and the procedure is short, engaging early and raising your grounds properly is almost always the stronger position.
Is "the foreign court decided the case wrongly" a valid defence?
No. Turkish law does not allow the enforcement court to re-examine the merits, a principle known as no révision au fond under MÖHUK art. 55. The court checks the conditions in MÖHUK arts 50 and 54, such as finality, reciprocity, jurisdiction, public policy, and proper defence, not whether the result was correct. The only bridge to substance is a manifest breach of Turkish public policy, and that bar is high.
What does the reciprocity defence actually require?
Enforcement of a foreign court judgment requires reciprocity between Türkiye and the country of origin, which can exist by treaty, by statute, or by de facto practice (MÖHUK art. 54). If none of these exists, that is a defence to enforcement. Importantly, reciprocity is not required for recognition (tanıma) under MÖHUK art. 58, so this ground does not apply in a pure recognition case.
Are the defences the same for a foreign arbitral award?
No, awards follow a different and narrower regime. They are enforced primarily under the 1958 New York Convention and MÖHUK arts 60 to 63, and the refusal grounds mirror New York Convention Art. V, reflected in MÖHUK art. 62, including public policy under art. 62/1-b. The MÖHUK arts 50 to 59 court-judgment conditions do not apply to awards.
Can I object that the case was filed in the wrong Turkish court?
Yes. The competent court is fixed by MÖHUK art. 51, the civil court of first instance at the defendant's Turkish domicile or residence, or one of the courts in Ankara, İstanbul or İzmir if there is none, with commercial matters going to the commercial court of first instance. Filing elsewhere gives you a competent-court or jurisdiction objection, which can move the case to the correct forum.
Does defending or bringing a tenfiz case require me to come to Türkiye?
Not usually. A power of attorney (vekâletname) allows a Türkiye-bar lawyer to run the entire matter remotely on your behalf. The judgment or award must be final, apostilled or consular-legalised, and accompanied by a sworn Turkish translation, but the case itself can proceed without you travelling.
