Law No. 805

Law No. 805 on the Mandatory Use of Turkish In Commercial Enterprises published in the Official Gazette No. 353 dated April 22, 1926 (“Turkish Language Law“) provides the rules as to usage of Turkish language in agreements, correspondences, accounts and records conducted by Turkish or foreign commercial enterprises.

Language Requirement

Turkish Language Law sets forth that all transactions, agreements, correspondences, accounts and records conducted, used or produced in Turkey by Turkish enterprises must be in the Turkish language.

In addition, the Turkish Language Law provides that foreign companies are required to maintain their records to be submitted to the governmental agencies in Turkey in Turkish.

The Law further provides that in the event that another language is used in the text of an agreement, the signature under the Turkish version shall be valid.

Furthermore, if the Turkish language is not used in an agreement, then it cannot be used as an evidence before the courts in favor of the Turkish or the foreign company.

Market’s Compliance

As a matter of practicality many companies prefer to use dual-column formats to comply with this rule. However it is worth mentioning that many prominent companies are in violation of this Law, and they for concluding the agreements in a foreign language. In fact, even public companies are observed to sign agreements in a foreign language.

Complete Text

Here is the full Turkish text of the Law No.805 on the Mandatory Use of Turkish in Commercial Enterprises.