As a general rule, court decisions are only valid in the countries where they are issued. Therefore, no state
allows other state organs to interfere with or participate in the activities of its own organs.
Court decisions have two consequences: conclusive evidence and final judgment. In addition to the effect of conclusive evidence and final judgment, some court decisions are also enforceable. As a result of states’ understanding of sovereignty, court decisions cannot be valid in another country. In this context, the executive organs of another country cannot take direct action, nor can the courts of that country take into account the decision of a court of a particular state based on that court’s decision.
For a foreign court decision to be valid outside the country where it was issued, the relevant decision must be recognized or enforced. As a rule, recognition and enforcement can be achieved through separate proceedings. Which recognition or enforcement proceedings are to be initiated depends on the content of the decision that is to be recognized. If the content of the foreign court decision requires an application to the enforcement office, the proceedings to be initiated will be enforcement proceedings. However, if the decision does not have this feature, the proceedings to be initiated are recognition proceedings.
As stated at the beginning of our study, states determine the conditions necessary for the recognition or enforcement of foreign court decisions and the conditions required for the acceptance of recognition and enforcement requests through rules established in their domestic law. However, due to international courtesy and the benefits that granting recognition and enforcement provides to the state, almost all states in the world today grant recognition or enforcement. Nevertheless, this does not alter the fact that the conditions for recognition and enforcement are, as a rule, determined by each state. Under this heading, we will discuss the conditions for enforcement under Turkish law.
If these conditions need to be examined in terms of substance and form;
Pursuant to Article 50 of the MÖHUK, the prerequisites for an enforcement decision are as follows:
1- The existence of a judgment rendered by a foreign court
2- The foreign court decision must relate to civil matters
3- The decision must be final and conclusive,
forming the basis for the acceptance of the enforcement request.
The conditions specified in Article 58 of the MÖHUK are as follows:
1- Reciprocity must exist between the place where the judgment was rendered and Turkey (This condition is not sought in the definition)
2- The judgment must have been rendered on a matter not falling within the exclusive jurisdiction of Turkish courts or, if the defendant objects, it must not have been rendered by a court of a state authorized by the defendant, even though it has no real connection with the subject matter or parties of the case
3- The judgment must not be manifestly contrary to public policy
4- The decision must have been rendered in accordance with the defendant’s rights of defense.
Turkish courts may only examine whether the conditions for enforcement are met in cases involving the enforcement of foreign court decisions. Turkish courts cannot examine the correctness of the procedure applied in the foreign court decision or the legal findings on the merits. This is called the prohibition of revision. When an enforcement case is filed in Turkish courts, if the conditions are met, the judge must issue an enforcement decision. The judge has no discretion in this matter.