The Turkish Regional Court of Appeal in Ankara, 31st Civil Chamber, Confirmed That Preliminary Attachment Can Be Imposed on the Respondent’s Assets Pending Enforcement Proceedings

In proceedings for the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards, it is crucial to secure the enforcement of the award, in other words, to safeguard the intended financial outcome until the conclusion of the proceedings. To this end, a preliminary attachment over the assets of the respondent may be sought alongside the request for enforcement of the award. One of the frequently debated issues before the Regional Courts of Appeal and the Court of Appeal is whether a request preliminary attachment can be imposed on the debtor’s assets before a decision on the enforcement of the foreign arbitral award has been rendered. In its decision dated 18 March 2025, the 31st Civil Chamber of the Ankara Regional Court of Appeal (“Regional Court of Appeal”) reaffirmed that a preliminary attachment may be granted during enforcement proceedings, provided that the necessary conditions are met.

In the case before the Regional Court of Appeal, the respondent in an enforcement action concerning of a foreign arbitral award sought the revocation of a preliminary attachment order issued by the Ankara 14th Commercial Court of First Instance (“Court of First Instance”).

In this dispute, the claimant requested the enforcement of a foreign arbitral award rendered under the Arbitration Rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and requested the imposition of a preliminary attachment on the respondent’s movable and immovable assets, as well as its rights and receivables from third parties. This request was made pursuant to Article 257 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law No. 2004 with the aim of securing the outstanding receivables awarded in the claimant’s favor and preventing the risk of dissipation of the respondent’s assets.

The Court of First Instance granted the claimant’s request for preliminary attachment under Article 257 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law, having established that the receivable under the arbitral award concerned a monetary debt and not secured by a pledge. The respondent’s objection – arguing that there was no debt due and payable in the specific case and therefore the conditions for preliminary attachment were not met – was dismissed.

The respondent subsequently appealed the decision of the Court of First Instance. The Regional Court of Appeal found no procedural or legal error in the lower court’s reasoning. It confirmed that the conditions for granting a preliminary attachment under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law were met and dismissed the appeal definitively.

The decision is significant in that it demonstrates that, in actions filed for the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards, a preliminary attachment may be granted as a form of interim legal protection if the relevant conditions are met, even before the enforcement proceedings are concluded.