Mandatory Mediation

Mandatory mediation is the compulsory legal process that must be followed before filing a lawsuit in disputes concerning a sum of money in areas such as employment, commercial, consumer and lease law.

Applications for mediation as a precondition to suit are made to the Mediation Commissions where the competent court is located, so applying in the right place is important. Filling in the application form incorrectly can also cause the subsequent lawsuit to be lost.

Conducting mandatory mediation with a lawyer is also important for protecting your legal rights. For example, it ensures that employee entitlements such as severance pay, notice pay and overtime are calculated without error and that your legal rights are correctly identified.

Lawyers also bring considerable experience to settlement negotiations, having managed many such processes before.

At Bursa Mudanya Law Office, to ensure you do not lose any rights in resolving disputes, we both file mediation applications on your behalf from scratch and represent you professionally in existing files to which you are a party.

Our Representation and Application Services

To fully protect your rights at the mediation table, we handle the process from both directions:

1. Filing Mediation Applications for Our Clients (Applicant)

If you want to start the legal process to collect a receivable or remedy a wrong you have suffered, we are with you from the very first moment of the application. In this context:

• We calculate and claim all your demands accurately, such as severance pay, wage receivables or commercial losses.

• We complete the official mediation application at the courthouse mediation offices on your behalf.

• We prepare application forms meticulously in line with the strategy of any lawsuit that may later be filed.

2. Representation in Mediation Files Against You (Respondent)

When you receive a mediation invitation from the other side (a company, the courthouse or a mediator), we take over the process on your behalf. In this context:

• We examine the legal validity of the claims and analyse the risks you face.

• Where you are in the right, we prevent unjustified or excessive claims from being made against you.

• We ensure that the final report and settlement agreement to be signed contain no hidden risks for you or your company.

Dual Expertise: Both Mediator and Lawyer

The mandatory mediation table is not just a place where numbers are discussed; it is an arena of serious legal strategy. What sets Bursa Mudanya Law Office apart in this process is that our founders are both practising lawyers and registered in the Ministry of Justice's official register of mediators.

• Med. Att. Ömer SEFA

• Med. Att. Zeynep KARACA

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Having managed many mediation processes, our firm is experienced in negotiations between parties. We also analyse the risks of the lawsuit that would follow if no agreement is reached, ensuring the process is managed correctly.

Disputes Subject to Mandatory Mediation

By law, applying to a mediator is a precondition to suit in the following disputes. You cannot go directly to court without completing this stage:

• Employment law: Severance pay, notice pay, overtime, annual leave pay and reinstatement claims.

• Commercial cases: Disputes concerning a sum of money arising from contracts between companies, commercial receivables and compensation claims.

• Consumer law: All cases within the jurisdiction of the consumer courts that exceed the limits of the consumer arbitration committees.

• Real estate and leases: Rent determination, eviction, condominium disputes and partition actions (izale-i şuyu).

Why Representation by a Lawyer Matters in Mediation

Although mediation meetings are not court hearings, the "Settlement Agreement" signed at the end of the process has the legal force of a court judgment. A momentary mistake at the table or a missing clause can completely remove your right to sue again on the same matter in the future.

The 5-signature rule: If the settlement agreement is signed jointly by the parties, their lawyers and the mediator (5 signatures in total), there is no need to obtain a separate "enforceability annotation" from the court. The document is treated directly as a final court judgment and can be enforced.

Fees in Mandatory Mediation and the Official 2026 Tariff

The financial obligations in mandatory mediation are governed by the official minimum fee tariff published by the Ministry of Justice. The amounts payable, and which party bears them, depend on whether a settlement is reached.

1. Fees When a Settlement Is Reached

When the parties settle at the mandatory mediation meeting, the mediator's fee is calculated at graduated percentage rates on the total value agreed. For processes conducted by a single mediator, the statutory rates for 2026 are:

• Up to the first TRY 600,000.00: 6%

• For the next TRY 960,000.00: 5%

• For the next TRY 1,560,000.00: 4%

• As the settlement amount increases, the statutory percentage gradually falls to as low as 0.5%.

2026 statutory minimums: When a settlement is reached, the total mediation fee cannot be less than TRY 9,000.00, regardless of the amount in dispute. By law, this minimum is TRY 13,000.00 in commercial cases and partition disputes.

2. Hourly Fees When No Settlement Is Reached

If the negotiations fail and the dispute goes to court, the mediation fee is determined on an hourly basis according to the time spent. In mandatory meetings attended by two parties, the statutory hourly fees (per party) are:

• Commercial disputes: TRY 1,500.00 per hour per party.

• Lease, condominium and neighbour law cases: TRY 1,170.00 per hour per party.

• Employee–employer compensation and receivables cases: TRY 1,130.00 per hour per party.

• Cases within the jurisdiction of the consumer courts: TRY 1,000.00 per hour per party.

Unless otherwise agreed, these fees are shared equally by the parties. However, a party who fails to attend the first mandatory mediation meeting without a valid excuse must bear these fees and all court costs alone, even if they are entirely successful at the end of the lawsuit.

You can review the official communiqué issued by the Ministry of Justice, the graduated percentage brackets and all details directly in the official PDF of the Ministry of Justice 2026 Mediation Minimum Fee Tariff.

Conclusion

When managed with the right legal strategy, the mandatory mediation process saves you from years of court costs and stress.

But there is no going back on signatures given at the table. At Bursa Mudanya Law Office, thanks to our officially registered specialist team and your special powers of attorney authorising mediation, we protect your rights to the fullest without you having to attend the meetings in person.