The Act no 4054 includes detailed procedural regulations concerning under which circumstances the Competition Board will launch an examination, which powers will be used to what extent in those examinations, how long the examinations will take, what rights the parties will have during the investigation process, how the decisions will be taken at the conclusion of the examination, which sanctions may be used during and at the end of the examination process, and how the Board decisions can be challenged. These procedural arrangements for every single stage not only ensure transparency, which is a requirement of good governance, but also provide significant guarantees to the addressees of the administrative action. 

The procedural principles including taking the pleas of the relevant undertakings and holding a hearing, which are laid out in the Act no 4054 in relation to investigations for competition infringements and final examinations for and merger/acquisition transactions which particularly involve the period from the launch of an investigation or final examination to the final decision, i.e. the administrative proceedings stage, exemplify the guarantees that must exist in a state of law.

These guarantees ensured by the Act no 4054 during the investigation process are upheld in the secondary legislation issued by the Competition Board, with clarity and predictability being ensured in practice through the inclusion of required procedural rules within the regulations on fines and the regulation concerning the leniency program, which is the most effective tool used by many competition authorities in order to detect cartels, seen as the most severe restrictions of competition. 

According to the Act no 4054, the conclusion of M&A examinations have a special schedule that is different from the schedule for examinations of competition infringements, ensuring a significant level of certainty for undertakings and their practices following the relevant transaction, particularly in terms of examinations which are concluded after the preliminary inquiry stage. 

Taken as a whole, the procedural rules in the Act no 4054 serve as an example for rules of procedure which are lacking in general in the Turkish administrative law practice, and they fill a significant gap for its of functioning. This approach adopted in the Act is upheld and carried forward in the secondary legislation issued by the Board. 

You can explore the sub-titles and concepts that can be examined under the “Procedure in Competition Law” section through the menu on the left.