Action for Annulment of an Administrative Act

What we do in this area

The action for annulment is the action brought against a unilateral and enforceable act of the administration; the court reviews the act for competence, form, cause, subject matter and purpose (Article 2 of the Administrative Procedure Code, İYUK). The office conducts actions for annulment against the acts of public authorities such as municipalities, governorships, ministries, regulatory bodies and the social security administration. Preparing the application made before litigation so as to preserve the time limit, drafting the petition, the request for a stay of execution, the reply to the defence, following interim decisions and the appeal stage are all parts of this work.

This page is a subtopic of the administrative law section. Compensation for damage arising from an act is covered on the full remedy action page, and actions against plan and expropriation acts on the administrative court proceedings in zoning and expropriation matters page.

Common types of file

How the process works

The petition sets out the parties, the act challenged, the notification date, the facts on which the claims rest and the legal grounds (Art. 3 İYUK); a copy of the act and of the notification document is attached to the petition. The court first subjects the petition to a preliminary review for jurisdiction, time limit, capacity, the correct defendant and the form of the petition (Art. 14 İYUK). Expiry of the time limit leads to dismissal of the action at this stage; a defect in the form of the petition is remedied by the opportunity to refile within thirty days (Art. 15 İYUK).

A petition that passes the preliminary review is served on the administration; the administration files its defence within thirty days, the claimant replies to the defence within thirty days and the administration submits its second defence to that reply (Art. 16 İYUK). Administrative proceedings are conducted in writing; in actions for annulment a hearing is held at the request of one of the parties, and the court may also hold a hearing of its own motion (Art. 17 İYUK). The court may also request the necessary documents of its own motion (Art. 20 İYUK).

A stay of execution is granted, with reasons and as a rule after the administration's defence has been received, where two conditions are met together: the act is clearly unlawful and its enforcement would cause damage that is difficult or impossible to remedy (Art. 27 İYUK). Except in proceedings under Articles 20/A and 20/B, these decisions may be objected to once, within seven days of the day following notification; the objection authority decides within seven days (Art. 27/7 İYUK).

Time limits and points to watch

The filing period is sixty days and runs from the day following the notification date (Art. 7 İYUK). If the last day of the period falls on a holiday, the period extends to the end of working hours on the following working day; if the period ends during the judicial recess, it is deemed extended by seven days from the day following the end of the recess (Art. 8 İYUK). An application under Article 11 made within the filing period suspends that period, except where Articles 20/A or 20/B apply; the period resumes where it left off when the administration replies or the waiting period expires (Art. 11 İYUK).

Infringement of an interest is a condition of the action: the claimant must have a personal, legitimate and current connection with the act. For regulatory acts the filing period starts from the day following the date of publication; however, upon an implementing act, the regulatory act, the implementing act or both together may be challenged (Art. 7/4 İYUK).

The expedited procedure applies to disputes within the scope of Article 20/A İYUK, such as tender proceedings other than debarment decisions, urgent expropriation proceedings and environmental impact assessment decisions: the filing period is thirty days, an application to the higher authority does not suspend the period (Art. 11 does not apply), the period for the defence is fifteen days, decisions on a stay of execution cannot be objected to, and the final judgment is taken directly to cassation appeal within fifteen days of notification instead of istinaf. For acts concerning central and joint examinations held by the Ministry of National Education and the Measurement, Selection and Placement Centre, the filing period is ten days, Article 11 does not apply and stay-of-execution decisions cannot be objected to (Art. 20/B İYUK). For this reason, in the examination result and tender examples in the table, these special periods apply rather than the general sixty day period.

An annulment judgment sets the act aside from the outset; the administration must comply with the judgment without delay and within thirty days at the latest (Art. 28 İYUK). Istinaf against the judgment is lodged with the regional administrative court within thirty days of notification (Art. 45 İYUK); in the province where the office is located this review is conducted by the chambers of the İzmir Regional Administrative Court. Cassation appeal (temyiz) against the regional administrative court's decisions in the matters listed in the law is lodged with the Council of State (Danıştay) within thirty days of notification (Art. 46 İYUK).

How we work

The office puts the date of the act and of the notification document on the calendar; the suspensive effect of an application to the higher authority is assessed file by file. The petition is written under separate headings for each of the five elements of the act, and the court is asked to call for the administrative file. An application to the administration for compliance with the judgment and, where necessary, a claim for compensation under Article 28 İYUK are planned as the next step. The general framework of our working method is described on the how we work page.