New Civil Procedure Rules in Turkey: Increasing Partial Claims, Three-Month Hearing Gaps, Joinder and Appeal Thresholds

Law No. 7589, published in Official Gazette No. 33326 of 31 July 2026, made significant procedural amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100 (CCP). We covered the abolition of the action for indeterminate claims in another article. This article examines the other CCP amendments that matter to anyone considering bringing or defending a civil action.

1. Increasing a partial claim (CCP Art. 109/4)

Under CCP Article 109, where the subject matter of a claim is divisible, only part of a receivable may be sued for. The new fourth paragraph provides:

• Where only part of a receivable is claimed, the claim may be increased once, in the same action, until the end of the evidence stage, without being subject to the prohibition on expanding the claim.
• In that case, the limitation period is deemed interrupted from the date of filing also for the increased part.

It is generally accepted that in a partial claim, limitation is interrupted only for the part sued for; filing a new action for the increased part could therefore expose the claimant to a limitation defence. The new rule removes that risk where the claim is increased. Where the full amount of a receivable cannot be determined precisely when filing, this option may be expected to gain importance in practice following the abolition of the action for indeterminate claims. The relationship of this provision with the institution of amendment (ıslah) and its limits will become clear through case law.

2. Hearings no more than three months apart (CCP Art. 147/3)

Under the new paragraph, the period between hearings may not exceed three months. In compulsory situations, such as where an expert examination takes longer owing to the nature of the case or where evidence is taken through letters rogatory, the judge may set a longer period, stating the reasons. The aim is to conclude proceedings within a reasonable time. For the parties, what matters is that the reasons for an adjournment and the period set can be followed from the minutes.

3. Joinder and severance of cases (CCP Arts. 166 and 168)

• Binding effect: In joined cases, the court where the first case was filed is bound by the joinder decision from the date the decision becomes final (Art. 166).
• Appeal against joinder: Against a joinder decision concerning cases pending before civil courts of the same level and capacity within the same jurisdiction, only an istinaf appeal may be filed (Art. 168/1).
• Severance decisions: Severance decisions of first-instance courts may be appealed, and joinder and severance decisions of regional courts of appeal may be taken to cassation, only together with the judgment. This alone is not a ground for quashing the judgment on appeal or in cassation (Art. 168/2).

4. The cassation threshold after istinaf (CCP Art. 362/3)

Where the regional court of appeal accepts the appeal in whole or in part and issues a new decision on the merits, a new criterion applies for cassation:

• The decision may be appealed if the accepted or rejected part exceeds, in amount or value, the monetary threshold in CCP Art. 341/2.
• Where the difference between the regional court's new decision and the first-instance judgment does not exceed the threshold in Art. 341/2, no cassation appeal is available against a decision falling below the cassation threshold.
• Where the decision concerns only litigation costs or attorney fees, no cassation appeal is available against a decision falling below the cassation threshold.

Since monetary thresholds are revalued every year, the current amount should be checked at the date of filing.

5. Signatures in video-link hearings (CCP Art. 149/4)

For persons who participate in a hearing from their location by audio and video link, provisions on handwritten signatures do not apply, except for admission, oath, consent to withdrawal of the action, waiver of the claim, acceptance of the claim and settlement. According to the Law's entry-into-force article, this paragraph will enter into force three months after publication, i.e. on 31 October 2026.

Entry into force and transition

Under the entry-into-force article, the amendments above, except CCP Art. 149, entered into force on the date of publication, 31 July 2026. The Law contains no separate transitional provision for these amendments; it provides only that, for the abolition of Article 107 on indeterminate claims, the old provision continues to apply to actions filed before the abolition date. How these rules will affect pending cases will become concrete in judicial practice; each file should therefore be assessed separately.

Conclusion

The amendments directly affect the strategy for filing partial claims, hearing schedules and choices of appeal. Those filing partial claims should consider the option to increase the claim and its effect on limitation, and those appealing should take the new cassation criteria into account.

This article is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Legal support is recommended for specific disputes.