Officially Registered Mediator
Attorney Nihat Paksoy is a registered mediator on the Registry of Mediators maintained by the Mediation Department of the Turkish Ministry of Justice. The mediator remains impartial throughout the process and does not act as counsel for either party.
What Is Mediation?
Mediation is an alternative dispute resolution method governed by Turkish Law No. 6325 on Mediation in Civil Disputes. The parties meet with an independent, impartial mediator and negotiate a resolution themselves. The entire process is confidential: statements made, documents produced and offers exchanged during mediation cannot be used as evidence in any later lawsuit.
If the parties reach an agreement, the resulting settlement agreement can acquire the force of a court judgment and be directly enforced. Matters settled in mediation cannot be re-litigated.
Mediation File Types Listed in the UYAP Commission Record
The UYAP assignment record maintained under the Bakırköy Justice Commission for Courts of First Instance lists the following file types:
- Voluntary mediation application files: consensual proceedings initiated by the parties for private-law disputes they are legally free to settle.
- Other mandatory-mediation application files: disputes that do not appear under a more specific heading but require a mediation application before litigation under the applicable legislation.
- Commercial mandatory-mediation application files: commercial disputes for which the law makes mediation a precondition to filing suit.
- Consumer mandatory-mediation application files: mandatory-mediation applications concerning disputes arising from consumer transactions and consumer-facing practices.
- Employee-employer mandatory-mediation application files: mandatory employment disputes, including qualifying employee or employer receivables and compensation claims and reinstatement claims.
- Mandatory-mediation files arising from agricultural production contracts: qualifying disputes between producers and buyers arising from agricultural production agreements.
- Mandatory-mediation files for partition of movable and immovable property and dissolution of co-ownership: disputes involving the division of jointly owned assets or termination of co-ownership arising, for example, from inheritance or joint acquisition.
For mandatory mediation, the application and assignment are handled through the competent mediation bureau according to the dispute type and jurisdiction rules. Inclusion of a file type in this list does not by itself mean that every individual dispute falls within mandatory mediation; classification depends on the facts of the matter and the legislation in force.
Voluntary Mediation
Any private-law dispute the parties may freely settle can be brought to voluntary mediation, regardless of whether mediation is mandatory for it — receivables and damages claims, contract disputes, inheritance-sharing disagreements and neighbor disputes among them. In voluntary mediation, the parties are free to choose their mediator together.
Characteristics of the Mediation Process
- Timing: statutory time limits apply to mandatory mediation; voluntary-mediation meetings are scheduled with the parties.
- Fees: fees are determined under the applicable Mediation Minimum Fee Tariff and the nature of the process.
- Confidentiality: subject to statutory exceptions, statements and documents from mediation cannot be used as evidence in later proceedings.
- Party autonomy: the mediator does not decide the dispute; the parties determine any settlement terms.
- Enforceability: a settlement agreement that meets statutory conditions may have the force of a court judgment.
How the Process Works
- Application: in mandatory mediation, application is made to the mediation bureau at the competent courthouse and a mediator is assigned from the commission list; in voluntary mediation, the parties may jointly choose their mediator.
- First session and briefing: the mediator informs the parties about the process, its principles and legal consequences.
- Negotiations: through joint and, where needed, private sessions, interests are clarified and settlement options developed. Sessions may be held in person or online.
- Final minutes and settlement: the process ends in agreement, non-agreement or non-attendance, recorded in final minutes; if agreement is reached, a settlement agreement is drawn up.
Impartiality
The mediator is independent and impartial throughout and does not act as counsel for either side; a mediator who has served in a dispute may not later represent either party in it as an attorney. Parties are welcome to attend mediation together with their own lawyers, and sessions can be conducted in English where needed.
Mediation Services Offered
- Voluntary-mediation applications
- Other mandatory-mediation applications
- Commercial mandatory-mediation applications
- Consumer mandatory-mediation applications
- Employee-employer mandatory-mediation applications
- Mandatory-mediation applications arising from agricultural production contracts
- Mandatory-mediation applications for partition of movable and immovable property and dissolution of co-ownership