A Turkish judgment used abroad, whether for recognition, a register entry or later proceedings, may have to be shown together with proof that it can no longer be challenged. In Türkiye that proof is usually not a separate certificate. It is a finality annotation (kesinleşme şerhi), a short entry written on the judgment itself, and it is easy to lose in translation because it sits at the foot of the last page or on the back of a sheet.
What Article 302 says
Article 302(4) of the Code of Civil Procedure (HMK) states that finality is shown by writing it below or on the back of the judgment copy (the ilam), adding the date and the court seal, and having it signed by the presiding judge or the judge. The Registry Services Regulation repeats the rule in Article 216(6). Four elements make up the entry: the statement that the judgment has become final, the date, the seal and the judge’s signature.
Annotation, endorsement or certificate
English renderings in use include “finality annotation”, “endorsement of finality” and “certificate of finality”. The first two keep a fact the law states: the entry is written on the judgment, not issued as a document of its own. “Certificate” suits the case where finality is confirmed on a separate sheet, and that sheet is then translated as a separate document. Whichever rendering is chosen, it is used the same way throughout the file.
Where it sits in the translation
If the entry is on the back of the copy, it stays in the same translated text, marked with a position note such as “[On the reverse of the judgment:]”. The seal is described in brackets and its legible text translated; the signature is noted with the signatory’s title.
Two dates that must not merge
The date in the annotation is the date on which the judgment became final, not the date of the judgment. The entry may also say how finality came about, for example without appeal, or after an appellate chamber or the Court of Cassation upheld the judgment, with the date and number of that decision. That part is translated in full, not reduced to the word “final”.
Judgments that went through appeal
Since the 2017 amendment made by Law No. 7035, Article 302(5) has the first-instance court record the finality of judgments that became final through the appeal courts and give the notices needed for execution. The annotation on such a judgment is therefore made by the first-instance court, even where the last word came from a regional court of appeal or from the Court of Cassation in Ankara.
Copies and e-signed print-outs
Copies are issued after the head of the registry states and certifies that they conform to the original (Registry Services Regulation, Article 216(7)); that certification is a further entry and is translated too. The registry head certifies copies but does not sign the finality entry, which the law reserves to the judge. A print-out from UYAP may show an electronic signature instead of a wet one and no seal, because sealing does not apply to electronically signed documents and decisions (Article 5(13)).
Criminal judgments: a longer entry
For convictions involving imprisonment, the regulation on penal institutions (Presidential Decision No. 2324) lists what the annotation shows: the person convicted and the penalty or measure to be executed, the manner and date of finality, the date the judgment was sent to the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office for execution and, where there are several prison terms, their total or which of them is executed (Article 54(1)). Each line is translated, and terms are not converted between years, months and days.
Using the annotation abroad
Turkish law asks for the same proof in the other direction: a foreign judgment enforced in Türkiye comes with a document showing that it is final, with its own approved translation (MÖHUK Article 53(1)(b)). What a receiving State asks for is set by its own law. A sworn translation made in Türkiye is not automatically accepted abroad; some authorities require a translator from their own sworn list. Check with the receiving authority before the translation starts. Acte Tercüme translates the judgment and its finality annotation into English as one text, with the seal, signature and certification entries in place.