Originally from Attachment of Assets

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1. What is the general nature and effect of judicial measures available for plaintiffs to obtain provisional relief affecting property of debtors to obtain security for judgments to be obtained (“attachments”)? Freezing property in place?  Placing it in the custody of a third party, such as a court official, sheriff or marshall?

Under Turkish law, preliminary injunctions constitute an interim measure which are sought to avoid that the outcome of a future or pending lawsuit is rendered ineffective. Preliminary attachments on the other hand entail the prior provisional attachment of a debtor’s assets by way of a court order to ensure the timely payment of the relevant debtor’s debt.

Although a preliminary attachment is a special type of preliminary injunction, these two precautionary measures differ in certain points.  Preliminary injunctions are defined and set out in the Turkish Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100 (CCP). On the other hand, preliminary attachments are defined under the Turkish Execution and Bankruptcy Code No. 2004 (TEBC). 

Principally, a preliminary injunction order can be granted for claims other than monetary claims, such as claims on movables, immovable property etc., whereas a preliminary attachment order can only be granted for monetary claims. Secondly, a preliminary injunction serves the purpose of securing the claimed right on a particular movable or immovable, which is the subject matter of the relevant dispute. On the other hand, a preliminary attachment serves the purpose of securing the timely performance of a particular debt, which the plaintiff is not yet entitled to demand by way of an absolute attachment on the assets of the debtor. In case of a preliminary injunction, the asset on which the measures are applied, is the one which form the subject matter of a future or pending lawsuit or an execution proceeding. Finally, in the event that the plaintiff’s claim is not dismissed at the end of a lawsuit or an execution proceeding, the physical possession of the asset will be delivered to the plaintiff in case of a preliminary injunction. However, in case of preliminary attachment, the asset will be sold through an auction and the plaintiff will have to be satisfied with the money obtained at the end of such auction.