Türkiye: The Constitutional Court has Partially Annulled the Clause on the Determination of Foreign Law

Authors: Ipek Unlu Tik and A. Kaan Baser

Constitutional Court has partially annulled the article of the Private International and Procedural Law, which allowed the determination of foreign law as the applicable law to employment agreements.

Article 27/I of the Private International and Procedural Law numbered 5718 (the “Law”) previously allowed the parties of an employment agreement to mutually determine foreign law as the applicable law.

The Constitutional Court of Turkey has recently ruled that the aforementioned Article 27/I of the Law is unconstitutional and annulled the provision. The decision of the Constitutional Court has been published on the National Gazette in late March 2025. Accordingly, starting from September 2025, parties in Turkey will no longer be able to determine the applicable law within employment agreements, and Turkish Law shall be applied.

In its decision, the Constitutional Court emphasised that allowing parties to choose a foreign applicable law in employment agreements carry the risk of creating a mechanism that may operate to the detriment of employees. Since employees are considered to be the weaker party in employment agreements, they may be subjected to a legal system imposed by the employer, which may provide less protection. This situation would therefore contradict the state’s obligation to protect employees’ rights. The Constitutional Court also emphasised that the protection of employees’ economic and social rights also falls within the state’s positive obligations, and therefore, ruled for the annulment of Article 27/I of the Law.

Key Points

• The Constitutional Court has partially annulled the clause, which allowed the determination of foreign law as the applicable law to employment agreements
• Starting September 2025, parties in Turkey will no longer be able to determine the applicable law within employment agreements, and Turkish Law shall be applied.