Two-Year and Ten-Year Limitation Periods in Tort

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

Limitation for a tort compensation claim cannot be determined solely by when the event occurred. Article 72 of the Turkish Code of Obligations provides a relative two-year period from the injured person's knowledge of both the loss and the person liable. The scope of that knowledge is assessed according to the circumstances and nature of the loss claimed.

The Long-Stop Period and Criminal-Law Exception

The law also provides a ten-year long-stop period beginning on the date of the act. However, where compensation arises from an act punishable under criminal law for which a longer limitation period is prescribed, that longer period may apply. Not every criminal allegation or complaint automatically extends every compensation claim's period in the same way.

Limitation is not a forfeiture period extinguishing the right. Under Article 161 of the Turkish Code of Obligations, the judge cannot consider limitation of their own motion unless it is raised. Grounds interrupting limitation, such as acknowledgment of the debt or judicial proceedings, must also be examined with their applicable conditions.

Under certain conditions, the law preserves the injured person's ability to refuse performance of an obligation arising against them through the tort, despite limitation. Recourse claims between jointly liable persons after payment are subject to separate periods under Article 73 of the Turkish Code of Obligations. Calculating a deadline merely by referring to a general two-year period is insufficient without identifying the claim's legal nature.

Source

Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098, Articles 72–73, 154, 161.

This article has been prepared for general legal information purposes.