e-book2013

MISCELLANEOUS

347

The New Consumer Law has Entered into Force

Att. Alper Uzun

Introduction

The Law on Consumer Protection, dated 23.02.1995 and numbered

4077, was the first specific law to include provisions aimed at the

protection of consumers in Turkish Law. Law No. 4077 was updated

through amendments made in the year 2003. On the other hand, in order

to establish coherence between the Turkish and EU legislations and to

harmonize the Turkish Law of Obligations and the Turkish Commercial

Law, which entered into force in 2012, the need to examine the main

legislation related to consumer rights was raised, and as a consequence

Law No. 6052 (“the Law”), published in the Official Gazette dated

28.11.2013, has emerged. The Law will enter into force six months after

its publication. Compared to the former Law No. 4077, the new Law

provides more detailed regulations and sanctions in many cases.

Important Provisions Brought by the Law

The need to protect consumers originates from various causes. The

necessity to protect consumers through legal provisions arises from

the fact that consumers often do not have enough knowledge when

concluding legal transactions. In this case, a disproportion of knowledge

exists between parties and it is only through legal measures that it can

be rectified. In the Law’s preamble, this aspect is specifically stressed,

and it is determined that the purpose of all cases where an obligation to

inform the consumer before or during the conclusion of a contract is to

remove this disproportion and to provide consumers with the possibility

of making informed decisions when concluding a contract. In some cases,

this obligation is stipulated as a written form requirement, the lack of

which would nullify a contract. In other cases it is determined that the

contract will be executed despite insufficient information being provided

to the consumer, but where the consumer has not been informed of certain

Article of November 2013