Conditions of action (admissibility requirements)

Conditions of action are the prerequisites whose presence or absence is mandatory before a court can reach the merits. The main ones are Turkish jurisdiction, subject-matter competence, exclusive venue, the parties' capacity, a legal interest in suing, absence of a pending identical case and absence of a final judgment on the matter.

Mandatory pre-action mediation prescribed for certain disputes is also a condition of action, covering employment claims, commercial cases and lease disputes. The court examines these conditions of its own motion at every stage, and the parties may raise a deficiency at any time.

Where a defect can be cured, the judge sets a strict deadline; otherwise, or if the deadline passes, the case is dismissed on procedural grounds. Since such dismissal contains no ruling on the merits, refiling after curing the defect is generally possible, though limitation and forfeiture periods may create risk in the meantime.