What are the deadlines and grounds for filing an Istinaf appeal in civil cases in Turkey?

Yes, it is possible to object to the decision of first instance except for cases below monetary limit which become final at the first instance. The court will indicate in its reasoned decision whether the judgment is appealable or final, as well as the deadline for filing an appeal. As general rule, the decision can be appealed within two week as from the notification of the decision to the related party. It is not necessarily required to submit new evidence, procedural or substantive misassessments by the court may be invoked as grounds for appeal. Kind regards,

Yes, it is possible to object to the decision of first instance except for cases below monetary limit which become final at the first instance. The court will indicate in its reasoned decision whether the judgment is appealable or final, as well as the deadline for filing an appeal. As general rule, the decision can be appealed within two week as from the notification of the decision to the related party. It is not necessarily required to submit new evidence, procedural or substantive misassessments by the court may be invoked as grounds for appeal. Kind regards,

 

If the first instance court has not issued a final decision, an objection may be filed. This objection is time-limited. The period begins with the notification of the first instance court's reasoned decision.

The real issue is not simply whether an Istinaf appeal is possible, but whether the first instance judgment contains a concrete, outcome-changing error and whether the appeal clock has already started to run. In civil cases in Turkey, a first instance judgment is generally open to Istinaf unless that decision is final by law, including low-value pecuniary disputes falling below the applicable statutory threshold. As a rule, the filing period is two weeks from formal service of the reasoned judgment, not from the hearing date and not from informal knowledge of the result.

You do not need a new law or brand-new evidence just to file an Istinaf appeal. What you need is a properly framed legal challenge showing where the court went wrong: misapplication of the law, procedural violations, incorrect assessment or disregard of evidence, flawed factual findings, or insufficient reasoning. In other words, a good Istinaf petition does not repeat the same arguments from the first instance, it identifies the exact judicial errors that affected the outcome and asks the Regional Court of Appeal to correct them.

In practice, many parties lose the appeal opportunity not because the case is weak, but because they act late or file a generic petition. The judgment itself, the service date, and the court file must be checked together before any reliable answer can be given on prospects of success.

If needed, we can review the decision and tell you very quickly whether there is a real Istinaf opening or only a formal right with little practical chance.