Turkey - Attachment of Assets
Author(s):
Serap Zuvin
Page Count:
22 pages
Media Description:
1 PDF Download
Jurisdictions:
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Author Detail:
Serap Zuvin, Serap Zuvin Law Offices, Maslak Sariyer, Istanbul, Turkey
Description:
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?
In the event that a creditor believes that the debtor (i) is not in good
standing, (ii) may hide his valuable assets in such a way that by the end
of a legal proceeding initiated by the creditor against the debtor, the
creditor will not find any valuable assets to attach, it may opt for
obtaining a “preliminary injunction” or a “preliminary attachment”
order, which will ultimately depend on the nature of the legal action to
be brought by the creditor against such debtor.
Although preliminary attachment is a special type of preliminary
injunction, these two precautionary measures differ in certain points:
Initially, preliminary injunction is a generic concept, which includes all
types of precautionary measures. It is defined and set out in the Turkish
Code of Civil Procedure (the “CCP”). On the other hand, preliminary
attachment is defined under the Turkish Execution and Bankruptcy
Code (the “TEBC”). Principally, a preliminary injunction order can be
granted for claims other than monetary claims, such as claims on
movables, immovables 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 that
conflict. On the other hand, preliminary attachment serves the purpose
of securing the timely performance of a particular debt, which the
plaintiff is not yet entitled to demand 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 is actually the subject
matter of a future lawsuit or an execution proceeding, whereas it is not
the case for preliminary attachment. 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. However, in case of preliminary attachment, the asset will be