At ELİG Gürkaynak, we combine our deep expertise in Turkish law with a business-oriented approach to provide comprehensive, strategic, and high-quality advisory and defense services in all areas of competition law and across all sectors. Through our broad team of specialists, we serve both domestic and international clients.
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Competition Law Inquiries, Investigations and Defense Processes
We represent our clients before the Turkish Competition Authority (“Authority”), the Turkish Competition Board (“Board”), and judicial authorities in preliminary investigation and investigation processes concerning allegations of violations of competition law, including cartel conduct (such as price fixing, market sharing, and bid rigging), vertical competition infringements (such as resale price maintenance and passive sales restrictions), other anti-competitive agreements, and abuse of dominant position claims.
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On-Site Inspection Processes Conducted by the Turkish Competition Authority
We provide our clients with immediate and effective legal support during on-site inspections conducted by the Turkish Competition Authority.
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Merger and Acquisition Processes Within the Scope of Competition Law
Within the scope of merger and acquisition transactions, we provide legal counsel on the preparation and submission of merger control filings, the conduct and close monitoring of authorization proceedings before the Authority, and the structuring of transaction processes from a competition law perspective.
We provide advisory services regarding the management of competition law risks that may arise before and after the transaction.
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Litigation Proceedings Against Decisions of the Competition Board
We effectively represent our clients in annulment and stay-of-execution actions filed against administrative fines, obligations, and other administrative measures imposed by the Competition Board. In litigation proceedings, we combine our competition law expertise with our litigation teams’ experience in procedural and administrative law to develop a comprehensive legal strategy and provide our clients with holistic advisory and representation services before first-instance courts as well as throughout the appellate and cassation stages.
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Competition Law Compliance Programs and Trainings
We provide our clients with competition law compliance services, including training and audit programs specifically tailored to their sectors of activity and commercial structures.
Within this scope, we organize competition law training seminars, conduct internal audit processes, and provide comprehensive advisory and audit services aimed at ensuring that our clients’ day-to-day commercial activities comply with competition law.
Our Team | Leading Competition Law Team in Türkiye
ELİG Gürkaynak has one of the largest and most experienced competition law teams in Türkiye and has consistently been ranked at the top tier in Türkiye by internationally respected legal ranking organizations such as Chambers and Partners, The Legal 500, and Global Competition Review for many years, based on its success, strategic approach, and technical expertise in complex and high-profile competition law matters.
Our team consists of 47 lawyers dedicated exclusively to competition law and operates under the leadership of founding partner Dr. Gönenç Gürkaynak, who has more than 25 years of experience in competition law, together with thirteen director-level lawyers.
With deep expertise across all areas of competition law, our team provides both local and multinational clients with strategic, responsive, and results-oriented advisory and defense services in complex and high-profile competition law and antitrust matters.
Contact Us for Our Competition Law Services
You may contact us for further information regarding our legal support and advocacy services relating to competition law and antitrust reviews, investigations, on-site inspections, mergers and acquisitions, compliance programs, and litigation processes.
Contact Us Today
Office Information
ELİG Gürkaynak
📍 Çitlenbik Sokak No:12 Yıldız Mahallesi
Beşiktaş, 34349 İstanbul, Türkiye
Office Location and Map
Our office is located in one of Istanbul’s central business districts and offers convenient access for both domestic and international clients.
FAQ
Keywords: cartel infringements in Türkiye, cartel enforcement in Türkiye, cartels under Turkish competition law
Under Turkish competition law, cartels are prohibited pursuant to Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition (“Law No. 4054”). Cartels include anti-competitive agreements and concerted practices between competitors, such as price fixing, customer or territory allocation, supply restrictions, and bid rigging in tenders. The Turkish Competition Authority considers cartels to be infringements that are restrictive of competition by object and imposes severe sanctions in such cases.
For further information regarding cartel infringements under Turkish competition law, you may contact ELIG Gürkaynak by phone at +90 212 327 1724 or via email at gonenc.gurkaynak@elig.com
Keywords: information exchange under Turkish competition law, information sharing under Turkish competition law, anti-competitive information exchange in Türkiye.
Information exchange between competitors is assessed under Article 4 of Law No. 4054 under Turkish competition law. In particular, the sharing of strategic information relating to future prices, production, and sales volumes is considered a hard-core infringement. The Competition Board examines, on a case-by-case basis, whether information exchanges facilitate coordination in the market, taking into account the structural and operational characteristics of the relevant market.
For further information regarding information exchange under Turkish competition law, you may contact ELIG Gürkaynak by phone at +90 212 327 1724 or via email at gonenc.gurkaynak@elig.com
Keywords: on-site inspections in Türkiye, dawn raids in Turkish competition law, on-site inspections conducted by the Turkish Competition Authority.
Pursuant to Article 15 of Law No. 4054, the Turkish Competition Authority may conduct unannounced on-site inspections at the premises of the undertakings. The Authority is authorized to examine and copy physical and electronic data, as well as request verbal or written explanations from undertakings. On-site inspections may be carried out during either the preliminary investigation or the formal investigation stage.
For further information regarding on-site inspections in Turkish competition law, you may contact ELIG Gürkaynak at +90 212 327 1724 or via email at gonenc.gurkaynak@elig.com
Keywords: resale price maintenance in Türkiye, RPM in Türkiye, determination of resale prices in Turkish competition law.
Resale price maintenance (“RPM”) is considered a hard-core infringement under Turkish competition law. The direct or indirect determination by suppliers of the sales prices of their dealers/resellers may be subject to significant sanctions imposed by the Competition Board.
For further information regarding RPM in Türkiye, you may contact ELIG Gürkaynak at +90 212 327 1724 or via email at gonenc.gurkaynak@elig.com
Keywords: abuse of dominance in Turkish competition law, abuse of dominant position in Türkiye, abusive practices in Turkish competition law, abuse of dominance in Türkiye.
Article 6 of Law No. 4054 prohibits undertakings holding a dominant position from abusing such position. The concept of abuse covers exploitative, exclusionary, and discriminatory practices; however, investigations in this context particularly focus on conduct by dominant undertakings aimed at foreclosing competitors from the market.
For further information regarding abuse of dominance in Türkiye, you may contact ELIG Gürkaynak at +90 212 327 1724 or via email at gonenc.gurkaynak@elig.com
Keywords: concentration (merger control) thresholds in Türkiye, turnover thresholds in Turkish merger control, Turkish merger control thresholds.
Under the Turkish merger control regime, transactions exceeding certain turnover thresholds are subject to the approval of the Competition Board. Lower thresholds are applied particularly to technology undertakings, and transactions in the digital sector are subject to closer scrutiny.
For further information regarding the merger control regime in Türkiye, you may contact ELIG Gürkaynak at +90 212 327 1724 or via email at gonenc.gurkaynak@elig.com
Keywords: leniency applications in Turkish competition law, leniency in Turkish competition law, leniency regulations in Türkiye.
Under Turkish competition law, the leniency mechanism provides undertakings and employees with the opportunity to obtain immunity from or reductions in administrative monetary fines for the purpose of uncovering cartels. Applicants are required to submit value-added information and evidence regarding the cartel and to actively cooperate with the Authority throughout the process.
For further information regarding the leniency mechanism in Turkish competition law, you may contact ELIG Gürkaynak at +90 212 327 1724 or via email at gonenc.gurkaynak@elig.com
Keywords: settlement in Turkish competition law, settlement procedure in Turkish competition law.
The settlement mechanism aims to ensure the more efficient conclusion of competition investigations. Undertakings that acknowledge the infringement may benefit from reductions in administrative monetary fines ranging from 10% to 25% within the scope of settlement procedure.
For further information regarding the settlement mechanism in Turkish competition law, you may contact ELIG Gürkaynak at +90 212 327 1724 or via email at gonenc.gurkaynak@elig.com
Keywords: administrative monetary fines in Turkish competition law, sanctions in Turkish competition law, competition law sanctions in Türkiye.
Infringements of Turkish competition law are subject to administrative sanctions. Upon finding an infringement following an investigation, the Competition Board may impose administrative monetary fines of up to 10% of the annual gross revenues of undertakings for each infringement. Managers and employees involved in the infringement may also be subject to separate fines.
For further information regarding sanctions in Turkish competition law, you may contact ELIG Gürkaynak at +90 212 327 1724 or via email at gonenc.gurkaynak@elig.com
Keywords: judicial review in Turkish competition law, appeals against decisions in Turkish competition law, annulment of Turkish competition law decisions.
Decisions of the Competition Board are subject to judicial review before the administrative courts. Annulment actions against final decisions may be filed before the competent Administrative Courts in Ankara; subsequently, appeals may be lodged before the Regional Administrative Courts and further appeals before the Council of State.
For further information regarding the judicial review of competition law decisions in Türkiye, you may contact ELIG Gürkaynak at +90 212 327 1724 or via email at gonenc.gurkaynak@elig.com