Interruption of Limitation and the New Period

Legal Article · 12 November 2026
Av. Thomas Andreas Di Constantinople

Interruption removes the effect of elapsed time and starts a new period. It differs from suspension, where the former period resumes once the obstacle ends. Interruption occurs only through events and actions to which statute attaches that result.

Article 154 of the Turkish Code of Obligations identifies debtor acknowledgment as a ground. Interest payment, part performance, provision of security, or a surety are listed within that framework. The debt acknowledged by the conduct must nevertheless be identified. Not every discussion or settlement proposal is automatically acknowledgment.

Court or arbitral recourse by claim or defence, enforcement, or application to the bankruptcy estate may also interrupt time. An ordinary payment notice alone is not among Article 154's interruption grounds. A default notice must therefore not be confused with an interrupting action.

A new period is calculated under Articles 156 and 157 of the Turkish Code of Obligations. Special rules govern acknowledgment by instrument and court or arbitral decisions. Later litigation and enforcement steps may also affect calculation. Effects on joint and several debtors and sureties require separate determination under Article 155.

Article 109/4 of the Code of Civil Procedure, effective on 31 July 2026, permits one increase in a partial action within the same case until the evidentiary examination ends, without the prohibition on expanding claims. Limitation for the increased part is then deemed interrupted from filing. Earlier unquantified claims require separate consideration of former Article 107, preserved by provisional Article 1/10 of Law No. 7589.

Legal Basis: Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098, Articles 154–157; Code of Civil Procedure, Article 109/4; Law No. 7589, Articles 19–20, 26, and provisional Article 1/10. Official legislative text and Law No. 7589.

This article has been prepared for general legal information purposes.