Izmir Administrative Law Lawyer

Administrative law is a branch of law that balances, through rules of law, the powerful position of the State and public bodies vis-à-vis the individual, and that protects the citizen against the arbitrary and unlawful acts of the administration. A tax penalty, a demolition order under zoning legislation, a rejected licence application or an unjust disciplinary penalty can directly affect a person's life and livelihood. The most critical feature of administrative disputes is that the periods for filing actions and applications are, for the most part, short and strict; missing these periods may cause even a well-founded claim to be rejected without any examination on the merits. As an Izmir administrative law lawyer, we believe in the importance of assessing the transaction correctly from the outset and of preparing the pleadings meticulously in processes conducted against the administration. As Av. Aydın, we offer our clients holistic support from the stage of the administrative application through to the actions before the administrative and tax courts, and on to the appeal and cassation stages.

Our Services as an Administrative Law Lawyer

Administrative law is a broad field that encompasses the review of the transactions, acts and contracts of the administration, and its adjudication is governed largely by the provisions of the Turkish Administrative Procedure Law No. 2577 (İdari Yargılama Usulü Kanunu). Disputes in this field are heard not before the ordinary courts but before administrative jurisdiction bodies such as the administrative courts, the tax courts and the Council of State (Danıştay). An Izmir administrative law lawyer must be able to assess the lawfulness of an administrative transaction in terms of the elements of authority, form, cause, subject-matter and purpose, and must have command of the procedural rules peculiar to the administrative jurisdiction. The principal types of case and transaction that our office offers in this field are the following:

• Action for annulment: An action brought for the annulment of administrative transactions on the assertion that they are unlawful in respect of one or more of the elements of authority, form, cause, subject-matter and purpose. Persons whose interests are infringed may bring an action for annulment to have an unlawful administrative transaction set aside; it is the most fundamental type of action in administrative law.
• Full remedy (compensation) action: An action brought by those whose personal rights are directly harmed by the unlawful transactions or acts of the administration, in order to make good that harm. The compensation of pecuniary and non-pecuniary loss is sought within this scope; it may be brought together with the action for annulment or separately.
• Objection to and annulment of an administrative fine: The process of reviewing the lawfulness of administrative fines imposed on the basis of various laws. Depending on the type of penalty, the body before which the objection is made may be the criminal court of peace or the administrative court; determining the correct body and period is of great importance.
• Civil servant and disciplinary actions: Disputes conducted against disciplinary penalties imposed on public officials, such as a warning, a reprimand, a deduction from salary, the suspension of advancement in grade and dismissal from the civil service; and against transactions concerning appointment, promotion, transfer and personnel rights.
• Zoning disputes: Actions concerning development (zoning) plans, building permits and occupancy permit transactions, zoning fines and demolition orders. Actions for annulment brought against amendments to zoning plans and plan revisions also fall within this scope.
• Public procurement disputes: Disputes arising in tender processes carried out under the public procurement legislation, such as complaint and appeal-by-complaint applications, actions for annulment brought against the decisions of the Public Procurement Authority, and disputes concerning the annulment of the tender.
• Disputes arising from administrative contracts: Legal support directed at the resolution before the administrative jurisdiction of disputes arising from public service concession contracts and contracts of an administrative nature.
• Expropriation transactions: Actions for annulment brought against expropriation decisions, the review of the lawfulness of the expropriation transaction, and processes directed at the protection of rights in situations such as de facto expropriation without a formal expropriation procedure.
• Annulment of a licence and of an administrative transaction: The review of the lawfulness of the refusal or annulment of a business-opening and operating licence, of various permit and licence transactions, and of the administrative decisions relating to them.
• Requests for a stay of execution: Where the implementation of an administrative transaction would give rise to damage that is difficult or impossible to repair and the transaction is manifestly unlawful, the making of a request for a stay of execution so that the implementation of the transaction is halted for the duration of the action.
• Tax disputes: Actions conducted before the tax courts against assessment, accrual and penalty transactions concerning taxes, duties, charges and similar fiscal obligations, together with legal support relating to the settlement (uzlaşma) process.
• Service-fault actions within the scope of full remedy: Actions conducted for the compensation of loss arising from the administration's failure to operate a public service at all, its late operation of it, or its poor operation of it.

In every one of these types of action, an Izmir administrative law lawyer must, by correctly determining the nature of the administrative transaction, meticulously assess which action is to be brought, which court has jurisdiction and how the time limits run. As Av. Aydın, mindful that most losses of rights in processes conducted against the administration stem from errors of time and of procedure, we take care to place the file on a sound legal footing from the outset.

Administrative Application and Time Limits for Filing an Action

The most distinctive feature that sets administrative disputes apart from other branches of law is that the time limits are short and strict. Under the Administrative Procedure Law, the period for filing an action against administrative transactions is, as a rule, sixty days before the Council of State and the administrative courts, and thirty days before the tax courts. This period begins to run from the day following the date on which the written notification of the transaction is made. Where the period is missed, the action may be rejected on grounds of time without any examination on the merits, however unlawful the transaction may be. For this reason, the correct calculation of the date of notification of the administrative transaction and of the period for filing the action is one of the most critical stages of the process.

Before filing an action within the period for doing so, the interested parties may also apply to the administration and request that the transaction be withdrawn, set aside or amended, or that a new transaction be made. This administrative application halts the period for filing the action, which has already begun to run. Where the administration does not reply to this application, the request is deemed to have been rejected at the end of the period provided for in the law, and the period for filing the action begins to run afresh. An Izmir administrative law lawyer bears in mind that, before proceeding to litigation, assessing the possibility of an administrative application may in some situations allow the dispute to be resolved more quickly and at less cost. However, since the connection of these options with the time limits is a technical matter, the periods for the application and for the action must be assessed together.

The Tiers of the Administrative Jurisdiction and the Adjudication Process

The administrative jurisdiction has an organisational structure and procedural rules of its own. The court that has jurisdiction varies according to the type and subject-matter of the dispute; for this reason, bringing the action before the correct court is of great importance. The administrative jurisdiction is composed essentially of the following bodies:

• Administrative courts: They hear, as courts of first instance, the great majority of administrative actions other than tax disputes. Most actions for annulment and full remedy actions are heard here.
• Tax courts: They hear, as courts of first instance, disputes concerning taxes, duties, charges and similar fiscal obligations and their surcharges and penalties.
• Regional administrative courts: They are the higher-tier courts that examine the appeals (istinaf) lodged against the decisions of the administrative and tax courts.
• Council of State (Danıştay): In addition to hearing at first hand certain actions in respect of which it is designated by law as a court of first instance, it also acts as the court of cassation in respect of decisions in which, following the appeal examination, the route of the legal remedy remains open.

Administrative adjudication rests, as a rule, on the written procedure; that is to say, the dispute is examined largely on the basis of the pleadings and documents submitted by the parties. For this reason, the preparation of the pleadings of claim and of reply, with legal grounds, completely and in due form, is a factor that directly affects the outcome. Upon the bringing of the action, a stay of execution may be requested; the court may order a stay of execution where the conditions that the transaction be manifestly unlawful and that its implementation give rise to damage that is difficult or impossible to repair are met together. An Izmir administrative law lawyer knows that, in preparing the pleading of claim, supporting the request for a stay of execution with strong grounds is critical so that the client does not suffer a loss of rights until the action is concluded.

The Difference Between the Action for Annulment and the Full Remedy Action

Distinguishing between the action for annulment and the full remedy action, the two fundamental types of action in administrative law, is important for the selection of the correct legal route. These two actions differ in their aims and their consequences, and in some situations they may also be brought together.

In the action for annulment, the aim is the setting aside of an unlawful administrative transaction. This action may be brought by persons whose interests are infringed by the transaction, and where the action is upheld the transaction produces its effect as though it had never been made at all. In the full remedy action, on the other hand, the aim is the compensation of the pecuniary and non-pecuniary loss arising from the unlawful transaction or act of the administration; this action may be brought by persons whose personal rights are directly harmed. For example, a civil servant who has been dismissed from their post by an unlawful disciplinary penalty may request both the annulment of the transaction and the compensation of the pecuniary and non-pecuniary loss suffered in the course of this process.

An action brought without the nature of the administrative transaction having been correctly determined may be rejected on grounds of jurisdiction or of the identity of the defendant; for this reason, the correct determination of the type of action and of the court with jurisdiction from the outset forms the foundation of the process.

Making this distinction correctly, and assessing the time limits of the actions together, is a technical matter. An Izmir administrative law lawyer plans the process by assessing, according to the circumstances of the concrete case, which action or actions must be brought, how the heads of claim are to be framed and which heads of loss may be claimed.

Izmir Administrative Law Lawyer Fees

In administrative law actions, the attorney's fee is among the first matters most people wonder about at the start of the process. The most important factor determining the fee is the type, the scope and the workload required by the dispute. Objecting to a single administrative fine, and conducting a complex zoning or expropriation dispute in which many transactions are intertwined, differ considerably in terms of the labour and expertise required. The table below has been prepared in order to offer a general framework for pricing; it is not a definite figure but is intended to show the elements and the logic that affect the fee.

Transaction / Type of Case	Principal Factors Affecting the Fee
Objection to / annulment of an administrative fine	The type of penalty, the body of objection, the scope of the file and the legislation to be examined
Action for annulment (annulment of an administrative transaction)	The nature of the transaction, the complexity of the file and the need for an expert examination
Full remedy (compensation) action	The amount of compensation claimed, the proof of the loss and the volume of the file
Civil servant and disciplinary actions	The type of transaction, its effect on personnel rights and the scope of the process
Zoning and expropriation disputes	The state of the immovable, the need for a site inspection and an expert, and the technical density of the file
Public procurement disputes	The application stage, the scope of the file and the state of the Public Procurement Authority process
Appeal and cassation application	The examination of the reasoned decision and the scope of the preparation of the legal pleading

Attorney's fees may under no circumstances be set below the Minimum Attorney's Fee Tariff (Avukatlık Asgari Ücret Tarifesi, AAÜT) published each year by the Union of Turkish Bar Associations (Türkiye Barolar Birliği). This tariff secures the minimum value of the legal service and forms the lower limit of pricing. A fee set above the tariff is agreed freely according to the particulars of the file, the labour to be expended and the need for expertise. As Av. Aydın, once we have assessed your file at the preliminary consultation and clarified its scope, we provide transparent fee information; it would not be a sound approach to commit to a definite figure without examining the concrete file.

It is also necessary to draw attention to a distinction frequently confused in administrative law actions. The attorney's fee paid to the lawyer is the consideration for the legal service and rests on the contract between the client and the lawyer. By contrast, the litigation costs are the items paid to the State or to third parties during the process, such as application and decision fees, expert and site-inspection fees, and postage and service costs. These two heads are independent of each other. Moreover, depending on the outcome of the case, the counterparty attorney's fee that the court may charge to the losing party may also arise; this fee is a concept distinct from the fee agreed with the lawyer. Discussing these heads clearly from the start when working with an Izmir administrative law lawyer forestalls surprise costs and makes the process predictable.

Who Is the Best Administrative Law Lawyer in Izmir?

One of the questions frequently searched for on the internet is "who is the best administrative law lawyer in Izmir". It must be stated with an honest approach that there is no single "best" lawyer valid for every dispute. The correct expression is not the "best" lawyer but the lawyer most suited to the dispute. For every administrative file has circumstances of its own, and the type of transaction, the court with jurisdiction and the dynamics of the time limits differ. A lawyer experienced in tax disputes may not display the same expertise in a zoning or expropriation file of an entirely different nature. For this reason, focusing on finding the lawyer suited to the requirements of your file, rather than on the search for the "best", is far healthier.

Some criteria that can be considered when choosing a good administrative law lawyer are the following:

• Experience and area of specialisation: The lawyer's accumulated experience in the administrative jurisdiction and in matters close to the type of dispute in your file is important.
• Command of the time limits and of procedure: Because the time limits in administrative disputes are short and strict, working with a lawyer who calculates the periods for actions and applications correctly and has a good command of the procedural rules is of great importance.
• Communication and transparency: Working with a lawyer who explains the process in an understandable way, presents a realistic picture and makes no inflated promises inspires confidence.
• Accessibility: Being able to reach the lawyer in good time is of critical importance, especially in situations where the period for filing the action has begun to narrow.
• Commitment to professional ethics: A lawyer who makes an honest and realistic assessment, rather than one who gives guarantees such as "we will definitely win the case", should be preferred.

It should be understood that no lawyer can guarantee the outcome in advance in the administrative jurisdiction; for the decision depends on the lawfulness of the transaction, the evidence in the file and the assessment of the court. When choosing an Izmir administrative law lawyer, preferring a lawyer who assesses your file honestly and clearly explains the possible scenarios, rather than one who promises you a certain result, will be in your interest over the long term. As Av. Aydın, our approach is to avoid inflated promises and to build the strongest legal ground together by presenting our client with a true picture.

Frequent Mistakes in Administrative Law Actions

The great majority of the losses of rights encountered in processes conducted against the administration stem not from matters of substance but from errors relating to procedure and to time. These errors may cause even a well-founded claim to come to nothing. The problems most frequently encountered are the following:

• Missing the period for filing the action: Because the period for filing an action against administrative transactions is short, overlooking the time that has passed since the notification of the transaction is the most common error.
• Bringing the action before the wrong court: The incorrect determination of whether the dispute is to be heard by the administrative court or the tax court may result in a rejection on grounds of jurisdiction.
• Failing to assess the possibility of an administrative application: Overlooking the route of an application to the administration before the action, and its effect on the time limits.
• Neglecting the request for a stay of execution: The continued implementation of the transaction until the action is concluded may give rise to damage that is difficult to repair.
• Incomplete or inadequate preparation of the pleading: Since the administrative jurisdiction rests on the written procedure, a pleading lacking legal grounds may adversely affect the outcome.

The most effective way to forestall these errors is to conduct the process, from the very start, together with an Izmir administrative law lawyer. Calculating the time limits correctly from the moment the transaction is notified, bringing the correct action before the correct court, and preparing the pleading meticulously, prevent losses of rights that are difficult to repair.

Our Approach as Av. Aydın

Administrative law is a field in which substantive administrative law and administrative procedure intertwine and in which technical demands and the pressure of time are intense. The particular circumstances of each dispute, the type of transaction, the court with jurisdiction and the dynamics of the time limits call for a different legal strategy. As Av. Aydın, we first assess the administrative transaction as a whole in terms of the elements of authority, form, cause, subject-matter and purpose, correctly determine the type of action and the court with jurisdiction, and work from the very start of the process to forestall potential losses of rights.

We support our clients in Izmir and the surrounding region at every stage, from objections to administrative fines to actions for annulment and full remedy actions, and from disputes concerning civil servants and disciplinary matters to zoning, expropriation and public procurement disputes. Our aim is not merely to submit a pleading of claim; it is to plan the process in a predictable manner, to assess in good time the routes of interim protection such as a stay of execution, and to place the legal claim on the strongest footing.

Protecting the rights of the individual against the powerful position of the administration requires patience, care and command of procedure. Having an experienced legal adviser at your side in this process both protects your rights and ensures that the process advances more predictably and with less strain. For any question concerning administrative law, whether you are requesting the annulment of an administrative transaction or the compensation of a loss you have suffered, you are welcome to contact our office.