A money judgment from a court in England or a costs order from a court in New York has no enforceable effect in Türkiye by itself. Under the Turkish Code on Private International and Procedural Law (MÖHUK, Law No. 5718), a foreign civil judgment that is final under the law of the issuing State can be executed in Türkiye only after a competent Turkish court grants an enforcement decision, exequatur (Article 50(1)). The translation is part of the petition from the first day. This page lists what has to be translated and the two approvals involved; whether the conditions for exequatur are met is a legal question and is not assessed here.
The documents Article 53 asks for
Article 53(1) names two attachments. The first is the original judgment, duly approved by the authorities of that country, or a copy approved by the court that gave it, together with an approved translation. The second is a document showing that the judgment is final, again duly approved by that country’s authorities, with its own approved translation. If finality is shown by a separate certificate rather than a note on the judgment, that certificate is translated as a separate document.
Layer one: approval of the original
The first layer belongs to the issuing country. The judgment and the finality document must carry the approval of that country’s authorities; between States party to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention this is usually an apostille on the original, and otherwise consular legalisation. The translator does not provide this layer. It is arranged in the issuing country before the documents travel to Türkiye.
Layer two: approval of the translation
The Code speaks of an “onanmış tercüme”, an approved translation, and does not say who approves it. In Turkish legislation the general procedure for officially certifying a translation is the notarial translation act under Article 103 of the Notaries Law: a translator whose oath record is kept at that notary’s office makes the translation, and the notary adds an annotation beneath the text, dated, signed and sealed. The approval of the original does not replace the approval of the translation; the petition needs both.
Translate from the approved document
Turkish notaries may, as a general rule, translate from a photocopy or fax, marking the translation accordingly. The Union of Turkish Notaries’ consolidated circular records that the Ministry of Justice opinion allowing this expressly excludes Article 53(a) of MÖHUK (Circular 23, para. 6). For an exequatur petition the translation is therefore made from the approved original or the approved copy itself, not from a scan sent by email. Allow for courier time before the translation date.
Copies, service and venue
The petition is filed with as many copies as there are opposing parties (Article 52), and it is served on the other side together with the hearing date (Article 55(1)). If the respondent lives outside Türkiye, the Turkish petition and summons now travel abroad and are translated into the language of the country where the respondent is (Service Regulation Article 40(1)). One exequatur file can thus produce translations in both directions. The competent court is the civil court of first instance; where the respondent has neither domicile nor residence in Türkiye, the petition can be filed in Ankara, İstanbul or İzmir (Article 51).
Recognition and the decision itself
Recognition, where a foreign judgment is relied on as res judicata or conclusive evidence, depends on the court finding that the conditions for enforcement are met and uses the same documents; the reciprocity condition does not apply to recognition (Article 58(1)). The Turkish decision is written beneath the foreign judgment and sealed and signed by the judge (Article 56), and a judgment granted exequatur is then enforced like a Turkish judgment (Article 57(1)).
Where the translator stops
The translator renders the text; they do not give legal advice, assess the outcome of the document or draft pleadings or contracts. Acte Tercüme translates the judgment, the finality document and every endorsement and stamp on them into Turkish, and the Turkish petition into English or French when the respondent is abroad.