Beneath a power of attorney or deed executed in Türkiye there is sometimes an unexpected signature: that of an interpreter. Readers abroad attribute it to the person who translated the document, whereas it belongs to the person who was present when the act was executed. This page brings together the provisions on the party and the interpreter.
Who the party is, and the notary’s duty
Article 72 of Notaries Law No. 1512 defines the party to the act: the party is the person requesting that the act be recorded. The same article states the notary’s duty: the notary must fully ascertain the identity, address and capacity of the persons having the act executed, and their real intentions. The word used for capacity refers to the ability to perform the act and does not carry its everyday sense. In the document this duty appears as the identity and address lines, which are not abbreviated, the type of identity document being rendered under the name it bears in the act.
The language condition
Article 74 is a single sentence: if the party does not speak Turkish, a sworn interpreter is also present. The last paragraph of article 75 adds that the oath of witnesses, interpreters and experts is administered by the notary in accordance with the code of civil procedure. The interpreter named in the document is therefore a person who attended the act and was sworn. In English this role is kept apart from the written translation of the document: using one word for both would suggest that the written translation in hand was produced by that person.
Hearing, speech or sight impairment
Article 73 governs another situation: if the notary establishes that the party has a hearing, speech or sight impairment, the acts are performed in the presence of two witnesses, subject to the wish of the person concerned. Where the party has a hearing or speech impairment and communication in writing is also not possible, two witnesses and a sworn interpreter are present. This paragraph explains why one document may carry both witness and interpreter signatures. The heading and some wording of the article were amended in 2005 and 2013; an older document may use wording no longer found in the current text, and the translation does not correct it.
Signature, mark, seal or fingerprint
Article 75 sets an order for those who cannot sign: if the party, witness, interpreter or expert does not sign and does not use a hand mark standing in for a signature, the seal is used where one exists, failing which the thumb of the left hand and, failing that, another finger, the finger used being stated. The second paragraph allows the notary to require a fingerprint even where a signature has been given, and makes the fingerprint compulsory where a seal is used. Records such as the reference to the thumb of the left hand are rendered as they stand: they relate to the validity of the document and are not summarised.
The signature block
Article 101 lists the content of the record, and its fifth item fixes the signature block: the signatures of the party and, where applicable, of the interpreter, the expert and the witnesses, together with the signature and seal of the notary. The capacities in that block are rendered one by one; witness and interpreter are not placed in a single column. The same article provides that the place and date of the record are stated in figures and in words, so the date appears twice and both are rendered. Acte Tercüme translates Turkish notarial records and acts bearing interpreter or witness clauses into English.