Recourse claim

Under Turkish law, recourse (rücu) is the right of a person who has paid a debt to turn to the party ultimately responsible, or to co-debtors, and reclaim all or part of the payment. It ensures that a payment made to the creditor externally is fairly distributed internally.

Typical examples include a surety who pays and then pursues the principal debtor, a joint debtor who paid more than their internal share, an insurer that compensates a loss and then sues the wrongdoer, and an employer who pays for damage caused by an employee and seeks reimbursement from that employee at fault.

The scope of recourse depends on the internal relationship and the parties' degrees of fault. The claim is subject to statutory limitation periods, generally running from the date of payment and knowledge of the person liable.