1- Supremacy: When examining public law, the “state” is considered superior to the parties. From this, it is understood that public law is superior to private law and that the principle of equality exists between individuals in private law.
2- Mandatory Nature: Public law is mandatory in nature. The parties cannot agree otherwise. In private law, although some are mandatory, most are not, and the parties can agree otherwise.
3- Public Interest and Private Interest: The purpose of public law is the public interest. There is no such requirement in private law. It is essentially based on the protection of the private interests of individuals who serve the public interest.
4- Unilateralism vs. Bilateralism: Administrative contracts aside, public law contracts are unilateral. The contract is established by the will of the public official. In private law, no one can force their will upon another; there are mutual and bilateral declarations of will. This is called the principle of freedom of will.
5- Enforcement:
Public law decisions are enforceable decisions. Public law authorities carry out the proceedings directly.
6- Presumption of Legality:. As a rule, there is a presumption of legality in public law. This presumption is considered legal until it is revoked. In private law, however, what is unlawful and what is lawful is subject to the discretion of the court.
7- Ex Officio Application: Public law rules are ex officio rules. Authorities implement decisions without the need for a request. In private law, there is no ex officio application (there may be exceptions).
8– Competent Court: In the. Turkish legal system, private law cases are heard in judicial courts. These are civil courts and criminal courts of peace.
In public law, administrative courts and the Council of State are responsible for administrative matters. Tax courts also deal with tax disputes. Criminal law is handled by criminal courts with judicial authority.
9- Development: Public law, except for criminal law, has begun to develop more recently than private law. Therefore, it can be considered to be lagging behind private law in terms of development. It is a developing branch of law. Private law, on the other hand, has made great progress and continues to do so.