What it means for you
If your situation touches more than one country — a foreign judgment, a foreign marriage, an estate with assets abroad, a contract with a foreign element — this is the law that tells a Turkish court what to do with it.
Commonly confused with
It is not a court and not a procedure. It is the statute; the abbreviation stands for Milletlerarası Özel Hukuk ve Usul Hukuku Hakkında Kanun.
Where you meet this word
Cited in every recognition and enforcement file, and in any dispute with a cross-border element.
How the Act is laid out: which law applies, which court hears it, how a foreign judgment lands here
Law No. 5718 was passed on 27 November 2007, published in Official Gazette No. 26728 of 12 December 2007, and — under its own Art. 65 — entered into force on that same publication date. Its numbered articles run from 1 to 66, replacing the former Act No. 2675 of 1982.
The Act has three Parts. Private International Law (arts. 1-39) decides which country's law governs a cross-border situation. International Procedural Law (arts. 40-63) decides which Turkish court may hear it, and how a foreign court's or arbitral tribunal's decision is recognised or enforced here. Final Provisions (arts. 64-66) repeal the old Act and set entry into force.
| Part | Articles | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Part One — Private International Law (arts. 1-39) | ||
| General rules | 1-8 | Scope (1), applying foreign law (2), nationality as the connecting factor (4), the public-policy override (5), limitation (8) |
| Conflict-of-laws rules | 9-39 | Capacity, family law and succession (9-20), rights in property (21-23), contracts (24-30), tort and unjust enrichment (34-39) |
| Part Two — International Procedural Law (arts. 40-63) | ||
| International jurisdiction of Turkish courts | 40-49 | General rule (40), status claims, succession (43), employment and consumer disputes, jurisdiction agreements (47) |
| Recognition and enforcement | 50-63 | Tenfiz (enforcement) of foreign court judgments (50-57), tanıma (recognition) (58-59), enforcement and recognition of foreign arbitral awards (60-63) |
| Part Three — Final Provisions (arts. 64-66) | ||
| Repeal, entry into force, execution | 64-66 | Replaces Act No. 2675 of 1982 |
The questions this Act actually answers
Most questions that reach for "MÖHUK" are really one of these.
- Art. 1 — scope. This single Act fixes the applicable law for private-law matters with a foreign element, the international jurisdiction of Turkish courts, and the recognition and enforcement of foreign decisions — subject to any international treaty Türkiye has joined.
- Art. 2 — applying foreign law. A Turkish judge applies Turkish conflict rules, and the foreign law they point to, on their own motion — not only if a party pleads it — and may ask the parties to help establish its content; if that content genuinely cannot be established, Turkish law applies instead.
- Art. 4 — nationality as the connecting factor. Where the applicable law turns on nationality, a stateless person or refugee is governed by the law of their residence (or habitual residence, or where found); a dual national who is also a Turkish national is governed by Turkish law regardless of the other nationality.
- Art. 5 — the public-policy override. A foreign law that would otherwise apply is set aside, and Turkish law applied instead where necessary, if applying it to the specific case would be clearly contrary to Turkish public policy.
- Art. 20 — succession. Succession is governed by the deceased's national law — except that immovable property located in Türkiye is always governed by Turkish law, whatever the deceased's nationality.
- Art. 24 — contracts. Governed by the law the parties expressly chose, or clearly intended; absent a choice, by the law most closely connected to the contract — generally the habitual residence or place of business of the party who owes the "characteristic" performance.
- Art. 34 — tort. Governed by the law of the place where the tortious act was committed, or, if the place of the act and the place the harm occurred are different countries, by the law of the place the harm occurred.
- Art. 40 — international jurisdiction of Turkish courts. Fixed by the ordinary territorial-jurisdiction rules of Turkish domestic procedure, not by a separate international rule.
Recognition and enforcement: the procedure, step by step
MÖHUK sets few fixed day-counts of its own for this process — it hands most of them to Türkiye's general procedural law (HMK). What it does fix is the sequence and the substantive conditions, each in its own article.
| Step | What happens | Article |
|---|---|---|
| 1. File | A petition, with the judgment and proof it is final, both officially certified and translated | 52-53 |
| 2. Court checks four conditions | Reciprocity between Türkiye and the issuing state; the foreign court's jurisdiction was not improperly exclusive; the judgment is not clearly contrary to Turkish public policy; the defendant was properly summoned or represented | 54 |
| 3. Served on the other side | Petition served together with the hearing date; heard under the simplified procedure | 55 |
| 4. Objection | The other side may object only that the Art. 54 conditions are missing, or that the judgment has already been partly or fully carried out | 55 |
| 5. Decision | The Turkish court grants or refuses enforcement in full or in part | 56 |
| 6. Enforcement and appeal | An enforced foreign judgment is executed exactly like a Turkish one; appeal follows the general rules and suspends enforcement while pending | 57 |
Recognition (tanıma) follows the same conditions minus the reciprocity requirement (Art. 58) — used where you need a foreign judgment treated as conclusive proof or res judicata rather than physically enforced. A foreign arbitral award runs on a parallel track (arts. 60-63): filed at the court the parties agreed on, refused only on the listed grounds (no valid arbitration agreement, the award is contrary to public policy, the subject matter cannot be arbitrated under Turkish law, a party was not properly represented or given notice, the award is not yet final or binding where it was made).
Whatever you opened this Act for
If this abbreviation reached you on a foreign judgment or a cross-border file, the subject you need is probably one of these:
- Enforcing a foreign court judgment in Türkiye — the tenfiz procedure in practice, arts. 50-57.
- Recognition of a foreign divorce decree — tanıma under Art. 58, without the reciprocity requirement.
- Inheriting Turkish real estate as a foreigner — why Art. 20's Turkish-law rule for immovables matters even when the deceased was never Turkish.
- Recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments — the service page, if you are starting a file.
- The two related entries: tenfiz and tanıma — the two outcomes this Act's second half actually produces.
Frequently asked questions
What does MÖHUK mean?
MÖHUK is the short name for the Act on Private International Law and International Civil Procedure No. 5718. It fixes which country's law applies to a private-law situation touching more than one country, which Turkish court may hear it, and how a foreign judgment or arbitral award is recognised or enforced in Türkiye.
How many articles does MÖHUK have?
66. Arts. 1-39 are Private International Law (which law applies), arts. 40-63 are International Procedural Law (jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement), and arts. 64-66 are final provisions repealing the former Act No. 2675 of 1982.
When did MÖHUK enter into force?
It was passed on 27 November 2007 and published in Official Gazette No. 26728 of 12 December 2007; under its own Art. 65 it entered into force on that publication date.
What law applies to a foreign national's estate in Türkiye?
Under Art. 20, succession is generally governed by the deceased's national law — but any immovable property located in Türkiye is always governed by Turkish law, regardless of the deceased's nationality. That split is why a foreign will can be valid for assets abroad and still run into Turkish forced-heirship rules for a flat or land in Türkiye.
Is reciprocity required to enforce a foreign judgment in Türkiye?
Yes, for tenfiz (enforcement) — Art. 54 requires either a treaty, a reciprocal statute, or an established practice of enforcing Turkish judgments in the issuing state. Tanıma (recognition) does not carry this requirement; Art. 58 expressly excludes it, which is why recognition — used mainly for foreign divorce decrees — is available even without reciprocity.
How long does it take to enforce a foreign judgment under MÖHUK?
MÖHUK itself sets almost no fixed day-counts for the tenfiz procedure; it hands the timetable to Türkiye's general civil procedure (the case is heard under the simplified procedure, Art. 55) while fixing the substantive conditions in Art. 54 and the appeal route in Art. 57. In practice the only certainty MÖHUK gives in writing is that an appeal suspends enforcement while it is pending.
Statute: Act on Private International Law and Procedural Law No. 5718
How we help with this: Recognition & Enforcement of Foreign Judgments
