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Giving Power of Attorney seems to be common place when buying property in Turkey, but what is it? how does it work?
The coverage and purpose of power of attorney can vary from a very simple presence before the water administration to concluding a ready form contract to a very complex company establishment procedure or buying valuable property on behalf of the assignor.
It is under the sole discretion of the assignor to give limits to power of attorney, so long as these are not in conflict with the mandatory rules of Turkish legislation.
To whom can I assign power of attorney?
As a primary rule, you can assign power to anybody who is over 18 and has legal capacity pursuant to the Turkish Civil Code.
Some types of services can only be provided by licensed professionals such as attorneys at law, for example power of attorney for a court hearing can only be provided by a lawyer. It is not possible to assign a person to assist you before a court unless this person is fully licensed attorney at law registered to the Turkish Bar Association (TBB). Likewise you can only appoint a trademark attorney in order to register a trademark on your behalf.
Assigning powers is not a bilateral transaction, and the presence of the assigned person is not required before the notary.
What kind of powers can be invested?
It is possible to assign powers to a third party to act on behalf of you for almost all kinds of transactions. Only a few types of powers cannot be invested via power of attorney.
Very personal powers attached to an individual cannot be assigned to any third party. These exceptions are not in form of numerus calculus. In other words, Turkish law does not count these exceptions one by one; a public notary (noter) will inform you during the course of assignment if the power you want to invest is assignable or not.
Where to apply to provide power of attorney
In some countries, power of attorney can be made without the presence of any judicial or official authority, but this is not the case in Turkey.
Under Turkish law, public notaries are authorized to issue power of attorney. It is required for person(s) investing powers should personally appear before the notary and in the notary office. It is also possible to provide power of attorney from abroad. This may be done; a) through a Turkish diplomatic mission’s consular sections; and b) through the public notary of a foreign country. In option b power of attorney should be apostilled (certified) according to the Hague Convention.
Only in exceptional situations, such as in case of a disabled person who would not be able to visit the notary, will notaries offer their service from outside their offices.
Source – Zaman Newspaper |
