Time Limits for Suing the Administration and Stay of Execution

Author: Att. Ahmet Bertuğ Dönmez Date: 25 September 20262 min read

A person whose rights are affected by an act of the administration may bring a case before the administrative courts. The most common problem in these cases is a missed deadline: a case filed late is dismissed without examining the merits, even if the act was unlawful.

The general time limit

Under Article 7 of Administrative Procedure Law No. 2577 (İYUK), unless a special law provides otherwise, the time limit is 60 days before the Council of State and administrative courts and 30 days before tax courts.

The period generally starts on the day after written notification of the act. For regulatory acts that must be published, it starts on the day after publication; a case may also be filed when the regulatory act is applied to you.

Special time limits

Some laws set shorter periods, for example for deportation of foreigners, public tenders or elections. Always check first which law the act is based on.

Applying to the administration stops the clock

Before filing a case, you may ask the authority that issued the act, or its superior, to withdraw or amend it within the time limit. This application stops the running time limit (İYUK Art. 11). If the request is refused or left unanswered, the period continues from where it stopped.

Stay of execution

Filing a case does not, as a rule, suspend the act. A stay of execution must be requested in the petition. Under İYUK Article 27, the court can grant it only if both conditions are met:

• Implementing the act would cause damage that is difficult or impossible to remedy
• The act is clearly unlawful

The court may require security. A decision granting or refusing a stay may be challenged once within 7 days of notification (İYUK Art. 27).

Sources

• Administrative Procedure Law No. 2577, Arts. 7, 11, 27