Foreign Company Faces a Multi-Million-Dollar Commercial Claim in Turkey: First Legal Steps – 2026 Updated Guide

What should a foreign company do after facing a multi-million-dollar commercial claim in Turkey? Learn about urgent deadlines, jurisdiction, evidence, mediation, arbitration, defenses, and asset protection.

A foreign company facing a multi-million-dollar commercial claim in Turkey should act immediately. Ignoring a court document, enforcement notice, mediation invitation, or arbitration communication may cause the company to lose important procedural rights.

The first steps should include identifying the proceeding, preserving evidence, reviewing jurisdiction and arbitration, calculating the potential exposure, notifying insurers, and appointing Turkish legal counsel.

The correct strategy depends on the claim, the contract, the parties’ assets, the applicable law, and the stage of the proceedings.

Identify What Has Been Received

The company should determine whether it has received:

• A court statement of claim;
• An enforcement proceeding;
• A mediation invitation;
• An arbitration notice;
• A payment demand;
• An interim injunction request;
• A precautionary attachment notice;
• A request for evidence;
• A regulatory or administrative notice.

Each document may create different deadlines and response obligations. The company should preserve the original document, envelopes, delivery records, electronic notices, and translated copies.

The date of valid service may be more important than the date on which management first reads the document.

Do Not Ignore Turkish Procedural Deadlines

Commercial proceedings in Turkey may involve strict deadlines for submitting a response, objecting to an enforcement proceeding, challenging jurisdiction, appointing an expert, presenting evidence, or responding to interim measures.

The foreign company should not assume that it has the same response period used in its home country.

A lawyer should review the document immediately and calculate every applicable deadline. A missed deadline may affect defenses, evidence, objections, counterclaims, or the ability to challenge an attachment.

Appoint Turkish Counsel and Prepare a Power of Attorney

A foreign company should appoint a Turkish lawyer experienced in high-value commercial disputes. The lawyer may need authority to inspect the file, submit responses, attend hearings, negotiate settlement, participate in mediation, challenge enforcement, and request interim measures.

The power of attorney may require corporate approvals, notarization, authentication, apostille, and translation depending on where it is signed.

The company should identify its authorized signatory and collect corporate documents without delay.

Lawyer Fırat Fesih Kaya assists foreign companies with urgent commercial claims, contract disputes, debt recovery, arbitration, enforcement, injunctions, and cross-border litigation in Turkey.

Review Jurisdiction and Arbitration

The company should examine the contract for:

• Turkish court jurisdiction;
• Foreign court jurisdiction;
• Arbitration;
• Arbitration seat;
• Arbitration institution;
• Governing law;
• Mediation or negotiation requirements;
• Notice provisions;
• Service methods;
• Language of proceedings.

A claimant may bring proceedings in a forum that the foreign company believes is incorrect. Jurisdictional objections may need to be raised at an early stage.

An arbitration clause may prevent a court from deciding the merits, but the company may still face court applications for interim measures, attachment, evidence, or enforcement.

Understand the Claim Before Responding

The company should identify the legal and financial basis of the claim. It should determine whether the claimant seeks:

• Unpaid invoices;
• Contractual damages;
• Lost profits;
• Penalties;
• Price adjustment;
• Termination damages;
• Warranty compensation;
• Construction delay losses;
• Share purchase damages;
• Goodwill compensation;
• Unjust enrichment;
• Interest and currency losses.

The claimant’s headline amount may include speculative or unsupported items. The company should separate admitted amounts, disputed amounts, contingent exposure, interest, penalties, and duplicate claims.

Preserve Evidence Immediately

The company should issue an internal litigation hold and preserve relevant documents. Important evidence may include:

• Contracts and amendments;
• Purchase orders;
• Invoices and payment records;
• Delivery documents;
• Emails and messages;
• Board minutes;
• Financial statements;
• Customer records;
• Project schedules;
• Technical reports;
• Expert opinions;
• Internal approvals;
• Complaints and notices;
• Settlement communications;
• Digital system records.

Electronic evidence may be stored in cloud systems, accounting software, customer relationship platforms, email accounts, messaging applications, and online procurement tools.

The company should avoid deleting, altering, or selectively preserving records. Digital evidence must be collected lawfully.

Notify Insurers and Financial Institutions

A multi-million-dollar claim may trigger insurance obligations. The company should review professional liability, directors’ and officers’ liability, product liability, cargo, cyber, construction, and business interruption policies.

Many policies require prompt notice of a claim or circumstance that may lead to a claim. Late notice may affect coverage.

The company should also inform relevant banks or guarantors if the dispute involves a letter of credit, performance bond, advance-payment guarantee, or bank guarantee.

Consider Mediation and Settlement

Certain commercial monetary disputes may require a pre-litigation mediation process before a lawsuit can proceed. The company should determine whether mediation is mandatory or contractually required.

Mediation may allow the parties to resolve the dispute before legal costs and exposure increase. However, the company should not make admissions or agree to payment before reviewing the evidence and legal position.

A settlement should regulate payment, release of claims, confidentiality, tax treatment, security, enforcement, and future obligations.

Challenge Enforcement Proceedings

If the claimant begins an enforcement proceeding, the foreign company should determine whether the debt is disputed, due, liquid, secured, time-barred, or based on valid documents.

The company may need to object promptly, challenge the amount, dispute interest, raise set-off, or bring a separate action concerning the debt.

A claimant may also seek attachment of Turkish bank accounts, receivables, vehicles, real estate, shares, or other assets. The company should respond quickly if its assets are frozen or threatened.

Request or Oppose Interim Measures

The claimant may request an interim injunction or precautionary attachment before obtaining a final judgment.

The company may oppose such measures by challenging the claim, urgency, security, proportionality, evidence, or risk of non-recovery.

If the company has a counterclaim or fears that the claimant will transfer assets, it may also consider requesting interim protection.

A court will generally assess the apparent right, urgency, potential harm, and proportionality. Security may be required.

Develop Substantive Defenses

Possible defenses may include:

• No valid contract;
• Lack of authority;
• Full or partial performance;
• Payment;
• Defective performance by the claimant;
• Force majeure;
• Hardship;
• Wrongful termination;
• Failure to give notice;
• Late or inadequate evidence;
• Limitation;
• Set-off;
• Lack of causation;
• Excessive damages;
• Failure to mitigate;
• Contractual liability caps;
• Arbitration or jurisdiction objections.

The company should organize defenses chronologically and connect each defense to documentary evidence.

Prepare Counterclaims

A foreign company may have its own claims against the claimant. These may involve unpaid deliveries, wrongful termination, customer diversion, defective goods, unauthorized guarantee calls, hidden liabilities, or damages caused by the claimant’s breach.

Counterclaims should be evaluated early because they may affect settlement leverage, expert evidence, jurisdiction, and the overall litigation budget.

Financial and Accounting Analysis

A multi-million-dollar claim requires a detailed financial analysis. The company should separate:

• Principal;
• Interest;
• Currency conversion;
• Contractual penalties;
• Taxes;
• Lost profits;
• Replacement costs;
• Goodwill;
• Consequential losses;
• Mitigation;
• Duplicate recovery.

An independent accountant or financial expert may be needed to assess revenue, margins, working capital, customer losses, project delay, or business valuation.

The company should not accept the claimant’s calculations without reviewing the underlying assumptions.

Criminal, Regulatory, and Reputation Risks

Some commercial disputes overlap with allegations of fraud, bribery, document forgery, tax violations, customs breaches, or misuse of company assets.

The company should determine whether the dispute may trigger criminal, regulatory, tax, customs, or licensing proceedings.

Public statements should be carefully controlled. Employees should be instructed not to delete records, contact witnesses improperly, or make unsupported comments to customers or authorities.

Cross-Border Enforcement

If the foreign company has no assets in Turkey, the claimant may still seek recognition and enforcement abroad depending on the judgment, arbitral award, contract, and relevant treaties.

If the company has Turkish assets, those assets may be targeted directly. The company should map bank accounts, receivables, inventory, real estate, vehicles, shares, and guarantees.

The company should also consider whether a Turkish judgment or arbitral award can be enforced in the country where the claimant or assets are located.

2026 Practical Considerations

In 2026, high-value commercial disputes increasingly depend on electronic contracts, digital signatures, cloud records, online banking, remote negotiations, AI-assisted documents, and cross-border data storage.

Foreign companies should preserve metadata, access logs, document versions, electronic invoices, and messaging records.

The company should create a single litigation team, centralize communications, appoint a decision-maker, control document preservation, and coordinate Turkish counsel with foreign counsel and technical experts.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What should a foreign company do first after receiving a commercial claim in Turkey?
The company should preserve the document, identify the proceeding and service date, calculate deadlines, appoint Turkish counsel, and preserve evidence.

2. Can a foreign company ignore a Turkish court or enforcement notice?
No. Ignoring the notice may result in missed defenses, default consequences, attachment, or loss of procedural rights.

3. Does a Turkish commercial claim require mediation first?
Some commercial monetary disputes may require pre-litigation mediation. The exact procedure should be checked immediately.

4. Can the foreign company challenge Turkish court jurisdiction?
Potentially, if the contract or applicable rules provide another court or arbitration forum. Jurisdiction objections may have to be raised early.

5. Can a claimant freeze the foreign company’s Turkish assets?
Potentially. A claimant may request interim attachment or another protective measure if the legal requirements are satisfied.

6. Can the foreign company bring a counterclaim?
Yes, where the company has its own claim connected with the contract or commercial relationship.

7. What evidence is most important in a high-value commercial dispute?
Contracts, payment records, emails, messages, delivery documents, financial records, expert reports, and digital system data may be decisive.

8. Can the company settle before trial?
Yes. Settlement or mediation may resolve the dispute, but the company should understand its legal exposure before making admissions or agreeing to payment.

9. Can a foreign company participate through a Turkish lawyer?
In many cases, yes, under a properly prepared power of attorney and subject to the requirements of the proceeding.

10. How can a foreign company reduce risk during the case?
It should preserve evidence, comply with deadlines, control communications, notify insurers, assess assets, prepare defenses, and obtain coordinated legal advice.

This article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. We recommend consulting a lawyer about your specific circumstances to avoid any loss of rights.

Expert Legal Support for High-Value Commercial Claims

Expert legal support is essential to avoid losing valuable rights. By working with a lawyer experienced in Turkish commercial litigation, international contracts, arbitration, enforcement, interim attachments, mediation, evidence, and cross-border disputes, foreign companies can protect their financial interests. Fırat Fesih Kaya Law Office provides professional legal support for high-value commercial claims in Turkey and abroad.

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