Turkish Privatization Law: An introduction
with Aykut Bakirci, Partner, Bezen&Partners, former Legal Counsel of Turkish Privatization Authority
Privatization, in its modern sense, started in Turkey with the establishment of the Privatization Authority in 1984 by the passage of a ministerial decree and with no legislation under the auspices of the Prime Ministry. During its early years, the work of the Privatization Authority (hereafter referred to as the PA) was limited to small “first steps” in form of IPO’s and sale of small assets. Until the passage of the Privatization Law (No. 4046) in 1994, the PA’s early years were marked with judicial challenges in the High Court of Turkey that repealed the legislation effort, stating the constitution did not allow for privatization and the PA’s mandate. During its early years, the PA’s 2 committees were also in charge of mass housing projects. However, with the passage of the 1994 privatization law, following constitutional amendments and High Court’s approval, the PA was granted larger freedoms for starting a more fundamental privatization effort. Shortly thereafter, in 1997, the Constitution was yet again amended for EU compliance reasons and the word privatization is explicitly used in the amendment’s text.
