The Obligation Relationship and the Duty to Perform

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

An obligation relationship is a legal bond giving the creditor a right to demand particular performance and imposing on the debtor a duty to provide it. Performance may consist of paying money, delivering a thing, doing work, or refraining from specified conduct. Not every obligation relationship consists solely of a monetary claim.

The Turkish Code of Obligations regulates the sources of obligations under contract, tort, and unjust enrichment. The source on which an event rests affects proof, limitation, and liability conditions. Recovering a payment under an invalid contract and demanding a price under a valid contract require different legal examinations.

One contract may create several obligations. In a sale, the seller's duties to deliver and transfer ownership correspond to the buyer's duty to pay. Under Article 97 of the Turkish Code of Obligations, a party not required to perform first may withhold performance until counter-performance is provided or tendered. This defence does not mean the obligation never arose.

The existence of an obligation relationship does not alone establish that the claim can immediately be demanded. Maturity, conditions, place, and scope of performance must be identified separately. Creation, maturity, and extinguishment of an obligation are therefore not the same legal stage.

Legal Basis: Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098, Articles 1, 49, 77, 83, and 97. Official legislative text.

This article has been prepared for general legal information purposes.