The new regulation also indicates the following issues:

Health institutions and intermediary institutions must establish an International Tourism Health Unit in order to accept, register, diagnose, treat, bill, discharge, translate and coordinate related operations.

A doctor should meet certain criteria to be appointed as manager of each International Tourism Health Unit.

Each of the International Tourism Health Unit should have at least two employees who are able to speak English.

Only authorized health or intermediary institutions can advertise and offer information about these mentioned services.

The Regulation on International Health Tourism and Tourist’s Health was entered into force on 13 July 2017.

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Major alterations presented by The Zoning Regulation on Planned Areas are the following:

– The maximum permitted footprint for foundations of new buildings increases from 40% to 60% of the land parcel’s total area.

– Apartments should be at least 28.5 m2 which contain one living room and one bedroom minimum. It will not be possible to build studio apartments from now on.

– Municipalities now have the discretion to determine the design of the building.

– Specific heat insulation applications and solar energy systems will not necessitate permission.

– The maximum storey height for buildings and workplaces increases from 3.60 m to 4.00 m.

– Areas owned by the Gendarmerie General Command and Coast Guard Command will no longer be deemed military areas. The Treasury will now be deemed to own these areas.

In relation to these construction permits granted by 1 October 2017, the applicant may choose whether the new or prior rules will apply.

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Prior to the new legislation, stamp duty tax applicable to the property transfers was 4% of the purchase price.

The title deed fees rate applicable to transfers of residential or business real estate properties (including those with construction servitude) is reduced from 4% to 3% until 30 September 2017.

The effect of the reduced stamp duty tax on property market, in our opinion, presents a unique opportunity to purchase or sale property in Turkey.  Accordingly, Turkish Statistical Institute stated that there was a 10% increase in property transfers in March 2017 compared to March 2016.

If you are considering to purchase or sell a property in Turkey, you could benefit from the reduced stamp duty tax. For further details on this, please contact our team.

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The IP Act was prepared in accordance with EU laws & regulations and it introduces significant changes some of which are listed below;

• The IP Act provides some protection for unregistered designs as well as parts of join products.
• Turkish Patent Institute is re-named as the Turkish Patent and Trademark Institute.
• Bad faith is recognised as a cancellation ground.
• Designs made by university staff and students will be regarded as university’s design. The designer, on the other hand, will be able to request a price from the university.
• Certain incentives for inventors are established with the IP Act.

In conclusion we believe that as a long awaited legislation, the IP Act will resolve some major issues.

The post Turkey introduces the new Industrial Property Act appeared first on The Turkish Law Firm in the UK.

The Act sets outs the principles for experts’ training, proficiency, selection and supervision.

The Act states that expert reports shall only address issued which require technical knowledge, in other words, expert reports cannot address issues that are not within the technical knowledge of the expert.

The Act introduces Expert Consultation Committee as an advisory body which will act under the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice. Furthermore, Regional Committees will be established to ensure expert services are carried out in accordance with the relevant legislation, issue experts list, register experts on the experts list and supervise and inspect experts.

We think that the Act will be a step forward in better expert service to be provided to the courts hence will have a positive effect on Turkish legal system.

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It should be noted that the Law only refers to the courts of a foreign jurisdiction and does not require any reference to specific courts in such jurisdiction.

However, recent rulings of the Turkish Supreme Court provide that when choosing foreign courts to have jurisdiction to settle disputes arising out of an agreement, the specific court in the relevant jurisdiction must be precisely referred to, rather than a general reference to the courts of such jurisdiction (e.g., “English courts”) as such a reference would be regarded as null and void. In this regard, Turkish Supreme Court states that the jurisdiction clause should not be considered by the Turkish courts unless the reference is made to a specific foreign court.

Please be informed that Turkish Supreme Court’s rulings are not binding for the courts of first instance in Turkey however the Courts tend to comply with the Supreme Court’s rulings therefore should the parties fail to specify the foreign Court he Turkish Court may decide that they have jurisdiction to hear the dispute.

If you need any assistance with Turkish law and disputes that might arise from contracts, please contact our team.

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