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The Grand General Assembly of the Court of Cassation for the Unification of Judgments ("General Assembly"), with its decision dated 13 June 2025 and numbered 2023/1 E., 2025/3 K. ("Decision"), resolved the long-standing divergence of opinions among the chambers and the General Assembly of Civil Chambers of the Court of Cassation regarding the determination of the competent court in cases arising from the breach of non-competition agreements regulated under Articles 444 to 447 of the Turkish Code of Obligations numbered 6098 ("TCO"). The Decision was published in the Official Gazette dated 12 September 2025 and numbered 33015, thereby entering into force.
The subject of the Decision concerns the question of which court has jurisdiction over disputes arising from non-competition agreements that take effect after the termination of the employment contract.
The 9th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation, the abolished 22nd Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation, and certain decisions of the General Assembly of Civil Chambers ruled that labour courts have jurisdiction, relying on Article 5 of the Labour Courts Act No. 7036 ("LCA").
In contrast, the 11th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation and other decisions of the General Assembly of Civil Chambers stated that the provisions of Articles 444-447 of the TCO are expressly listed as absolute commercial cases under Article 4 of the Turkish Commercial Code numbered 6102 ("TCC"), and therefore, the competent court is the commercial court of first instance.
The conflicting precedents, which had persisted for many years, created uncertainty in practice and necessitated the unification of judgments
The Generel Assembly concluded that after the termination of the employment relationship, disputes arising from non-competition agreements after the termination of the employment relationship cannot be considered to fall within the jurisdiction of the labour courts, that such agreements pertain to commercial consequences arising after the termination of the employment relationship, and therefore, that the competent courts are the commercial courts of first instance. The Decision further underlined that the assessment of trade secrets and the scope of non-competition agreements requires expertise, and that vesting jurisdiction in commercial courts is more consistent with the principles of equity and justice.
With this unification of judgments, it has been established that cases concerning the breach of non-competition agreements following the termination of the employment contract shall be heard exclusively by the commercial courts of first instance.
Thus, uniformity of practice has been achieved for both the chambers of the Court of Cassation and the first-instance courts, putting an end to the long-standing debates on jurisdiction.
The full text of the Decision can be accessed via this link. (Only Available in Turkish)
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