Unofficial English translation for information only. In case of discrepancy, the Turkish text prevails. This translation is not legal advice.
Turkish source: Law No. 6502, Official Gazette 28/11/2013, No. 28835. Turkish text as published on mevzuat.gov.tr, checked on 26 October 2026: https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/mevzuat?MevzuatNo=6502&MevzuatTur=1&MevzuatTertip=5
PART SEVEN – Consumer Organisations
CHAPTER ONE – Consumer Council and Advertising Council
Article 64 – Consumer Council
(1) The Consumer Council shall convene at least once a year under the coordination of the Ministry in order to identify consumer problems and needs, examine the measures required to protect their interests, and communicate to the relevant authorities, for priority consideration, its opinions on measures for the implementation of this Law.
(2) The number of representatives from public institutions and organisations on the Consumer Council may in no case exceed fifty per cent of the Council’s total membership.
(3) The members of the Consumer Council, its working procedures and principles, and other matters shall be prescribed by regulation.
Article 65 – Advertising Council
(1) The Advertising Council shall convene at least once a year under the coordination of the Ministry in order to follow contemporary communication practices relating to the formulation and implementation of advertising policies, conduct research and studies aimed at developing the advertising sector and the advertising oversight function, express opinions and make recommendations in this field, and communicate those opinions and recommendations to the relevant authorities.
(2) The number of representatives from public institutions and organisations on the Advertising Council may in no case exceed fifty per cent of the Council’s total membership.
(3) The members of the Advertising Council, its working procedures and principles, and other matters shall be prescribed by regulation.
CHAPTER TWO – Consumer Arbitration Committee
Article 66 – Establishment and area of responsibility
(1) (Amended:24/3/2022-7392/12 art.) The Ministry is responsible for establishing consumer arbitration committees in order to resolve disputes that may arise from consumer transactions and practices aimed at consumers. The jurisdiction and allocation of work of consumer arbitration committees shall be determined by the Ministry.
(2) The consumer arbitration committee, chaired in provinces by the provincial director of trade and in districts by the district governor or an official appointed by either of them, consists of:
a) one member appointed by the mayor from among municipal personnel who are experts in the subject,
b) one member appointed by the bar association from among its members,
c) one member appointed by the chamber of commerce and industry or, where they are organised separately, the chamber of commerce, in disputes where the seller is a merchant; and, in disputes where the seller is a tradesman or craftsman, one member appointed by the union of chambers of tradesmen and craftsmen in provinces or by the chamber of tradesmen and craftsmen with the largest membership in districts,
ç) one member to be elected by consumer organisations from among themselves,
and consists of five members, including the chair. Alternates for the chair and members who meet the qualifications set out in this paragraph shall also be designated. (Added sentences:11/7/2020-7249/26 art.) In provinces where more than one bar association has been established, members shall be appointed to provincial and district consumer arbitration committees on the basis of equal and rotating representation of the bar associations. The procedures and principles concerning appointments shall be set out in a regulation prepared by the Union of Turkish Bar Associations.
(3) In places where the consumer arbitration committee cannot be constituted, vacant memberships shall be filled by the provincial director of trade in provinces and by the district governor in districts, from among civil servants meeting the membership qualifications prescribed by regulation.
Article 67 – Rapporteur
(1) Rapporteurs may be employed in consumer arbitration committees established in provincial and district centres. In provinces where the number of rapporteurs is insufficient, a sufficient number of rapporteurs shall be appointed by the provincial director of trade from among the personnel of the provincial directorate of trade; in districts, the district governor shall appoint them from among civil servants serving in the district.
(2) Rapporteurs of consumer arbitration committees are responsible for preparing the files forming the basis for the committee’s work and decisions and submitting a report on the dispute.
Article 68 – Application
(1) (Amended sentence:24/3/2022-7392/13 art.) Without prejudice to the parties’ rights under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law, applying to consumer arbitration committees is mandatory in disputes whose value is below thirty thousand Turkish liras. No application may be made to consumer arbitration committees for disputes exceeding these values.
(2) Consumer arbitration committees are required to accept applications made to them for processing.
(3) Applications may be made to the consumer arbitration committee at the consumer’s place of residence or where the consumer transaction took place. (Amended sentence:24/3/2022-7392/13 art.) In places where there is no consumer arbitration committee, applications may be made to the district governorship of that district. (Added sentence:24/3/2022-7392/13 art.) These applications shall be forwarded by the district governorships to the consumer arbitration committee designated by the Ministry as competent, for necessary action.
(4) The monetary limits specified in this Article shall, with effect from the beginning of each calendar year, be increased and applied for that year at the revaluation rate determined and announced pursuant to the provisions of repeated Article 298 of the Tax Procedure Law No. 213 dated 4/1/1961. Fractions of one thousand Turkish liras shall not be taken into account in calculating these increases. [22]
(5) This Article does not prevent consumers from applying to alternative dispute resolution bodies under the relevant legislation.
Article 69 – Examination
(1) Consumer arbitration committees may request from the parties and the relevant institutions or organisations any information and documents relating to the subject matter of the dispute.
Article 70 – Decision and objection to the decision
(1) (Amended sentence:24/3/2022-7392/14 art.) Decisions of consumer arbitration committees are binding on the parties. (Added sentence:10/9/2014-6552/140 art.) Consumer arbitration committees may not order the payment of attorney’s fees.
(2) (Amended sentence:24/3/2022-7392/14 art.) Documents required to be served by the consumer arbitration committee shall be served on the parties or their representatives electronically in accordance with Article 107/A of Law No. 213; where electronic service cannot be effected in this context, the provisions of the Notification Law No. 7201 dated 11/2/1959 shall apply. Decisions of consumer arbitration committees shall be enforced in accordance with the provisions of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law concerning enforcement of judgments.
(3) The parties may object to decisions of the consumer arbitration committee within two weeks from the date of service before the consumer court at the location of the consumer arbitration committee or the consumer’s place of residence. The objection does not stay enforcement of the consumer arbitration committee’s decision. However, upon request, the judge may stay enforcement of the decision by way of an interim measure. [23][24]
(4) If the decision objected to is lawful as to its merits but the objection should be accepted because the law was erroneously applied to the case, or if the matter contrary to law does not require a retrial, the consumer court may, on the basis of the documents, affirm the decision by changing or correcting it. This provision also applies to errors concerning the identity or trade names of the parties and to errors in writing, calculation or other obvious expression. If the decision complies with procedure and law but the stated grounds are not found to be correct, it shall be affirmed with the grounds changed or corrected.
(5) The decision of the consumer court on an objection lodged against decisions of consumer arbitration committees is final.
(6) In actions brought against decisions rendered in favour of the consumer by consumer arbitration committees, if the decision is annulled, attorney’s fees shall be awarded against the consumer on the basis of the proportional tariff in accordance with the minimum attorney’s fee tariff. (Added sentence:24/3/2022-7392/14 art.) However, if the decision is annulled because information or a document that existed but was not submitted to the consumer arbitration committee is submitted to the consumer court, no litigation costs or attorney’s fees may be awarded against the consumer.
(7) In decisions rendered against the consumer by a consumer arbitration committee concerning a dispute, service and expert witness fees shall be borne by the Ministry. If the dispute is resolved in favour of the consumer, service and expert witness fees shall be collected from the opposing party in accordance with the provisions of the Law on the Procedure for the Collection of Public Receivables No. 6183 dated 21/7/1953 and recorded as revenue in the budget.
Article 71 – Attendance fee and remuneration
(1) The attendance fees and remuneration payable to the chairs and members of consumer arbitration committees and to other public personnel appointed as rapporteurs, as well as expert witness fees and the procedures and principles relating to these payments, shall be determined by the Ministry after obtaining the favourable opinion of the Ministry of Finance.
Article 72 – Other matters
(1) The establishment and working procedures and principles of consumer arbitration committees, the qualifications of rapporteurs, the procedures and principles concerning expert witness practice, and other matters shall be prescribed by regulation.
Notes
[22] By Article 13 of Law No. 7392 dated 24/3/2022, the phrase “ten” in this paragraph was amended to read “one thousand”.
[23] By Article 14 of Law No. 7392 dated 24/3/2022, the phrase “or the consumer arbitration committee” was added after the phrase “within” in this paragraph.
[24] By Article 37 of Law No. 7499 dated 2/3/2024, the phrase “fifteen days” in this paragraph was amended to read “two weeks”.