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