The decision of the Grand General Assembly of the Court of Cassation on the Unification of Judgements taken in June was published in the Official Gazette dated 12 September 2025 and numbered 33015.
The Subject of Unifying Judgements
As a result of the decisions of different chambers of the Court of Cassation, there was a difference in practice as to whether labor courts or commercial courts of first instance were competent in disputes regarding the prohibition of competition in the employment contract (articles 444-447 of the Turkish Code of Obligations).
This difference in jurisprudence created hesitation as to whether the courts in charge of disputes regarding the prohibition of competition were labor courts or commercial courts of first instance. In order to eliminate the hesitation in question and to prevent possible loss of rights, the Grand General Assembly of the Court of Cassation on the Unification of Judgements decided to unify the case law.
Legal Evaluation
The Grand General Assembly of the Court of Cassation on the Unification of Judgements; upon its deliberation, held—by majority vote—that disputes arising from non-compete clauses fall within the jurisdiction of the commercial courts of first instance. The Assembly reasoned that Article 4(1)(c) of the Turkish Commercial Code (Law No. 6102) makes direct reference to Articles 444 through 447 of the Turkish Code of Obligations, and that Article 5 of the Labour Courts Code (Law No. 7036) does not constitute an exception under Article 5(1) of the Turkish Commercial Code.
As a consequence of this Judgment Unifying Precedent, the controversy in practice regarding the competent court has been resolved, and it is now settled that disputes concerning non-compete clauses must be brought before the commercial courts of first instance.
