Ozkan Law Office

Turkey has recently amended its mining regulations in order to attract more domestic and foreign private investors in the industry. The amendments made are criticized particularly by the environmental groups for removing the environmental controls drastically and by domestic mining investors for being radically open to foreign investors. This Newsletter deals with some of the important aspects of the recently enacted pieces of legislation.

As a country with a rapidly growing economy, Turkey has an increasing energy need. At the moment, the energy need is mostly met by fossil fuels and a large portion of it is imported. Turkey, on the other hand, has a large potential for renewable resources.

Turkey has ratified International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol 1978 relating thereto (MARPOL 73/78), which regulates what wastes can be discharged from ships into marine environment and requires State Parties to ensure the provision of adequate reception facilities in the ports. The regulations implementing MARPOL 73/78 in Turkey, however, have not been enacted until recently.

Dramatic changes took place in the communication laws and regulations of the main liberalised electronic communications markets in the recent years in response to rapid technological advancements and marketplace changes in the communications sector. The general trend in the aforesaid regulatory changes is a movement away from sector specific regulation towards relying on competition law in order to facilitate a more innovation and economic-driven communication market.

This memorandum provides an overview on the basic rights of a shareholder in a joint stock company incorporated under the laws of Turkey. The memorandum does not cover public companies.