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Period for Filing a Lawsuit, Conditions and Implementation Principles within the Scope of İYUK No. 2577 Article 2, Article 7 and Article 27
This guide has been prepared based on the current provisions of the Administrative Procedure Law No. 2577 and the established case law of the Council of State.
Summary: A person who thinks that a transaction established by the administration is against the law may file an annulment lawsuit in the administrative courts within sixty days from the date of learning of the transaction. Since filing a lawsuit alone does not stop the implementation of the administrative action, a stay of execution must be requested along with the lawsuit if remaining in force will cause irreparable damage. In order for this request to be accepted, the conditions must be met: the transaction must be clearly unlawful and if it is implemented, irreparable damage will occur. Missing the deadline or not preparing the petition in accordance with the procedural requirements is a decisive risk that may lead to loss of rights.
1. What is the Case for Cancellation of Administrative Action? The case for annulment of administrative action is a type of case that ensures that the actions taken unilaterally by the administration, relying on public power, and which have direct consequences on the legal status of individuals, are subject to judicial review on the grounds that they are contrary to law. A municipality's demolition decision, an institution's dismissal, rejection of a license application or an administrative fine can be cited as examples of actions that may be subject to this lawsuit. Administrative actions benefit from the assumption that they are lawful from the moment they are established; This is called "presumption of legality" in doctrine and jurisprudence. This presumption remains valid until the transaction is annulled by a judicial decision and gives the administration the authority to implement the transaction immediately. An annulment lawsuit is the only way to put this presumption under control; Because the administrative judiciary cannot replace the administration and establish a new action, it only examines the legality of the existing action.
1.1. Characteristics of the Transaction That May Be the Subject of a Lawsuit Not every administrative act is subject to an annulment lawsuit. The transaction that may be the subject of a lawsuit must be final and mandatory (executive); As a rule, preparatory procedures, correspondence expressing opinions or preliminary steps regarding internal operations cannot be the subject of a lawsuit on their own. On the other hand, requests whose applications are left unanswered within thirty days are deemed to have been implicitly rejected in accordance with Article 10 of the IYUK, and this implicit rejection may also be subject to an annulment lawsuit.
2. Elements of Administrative Action and Reasons for Illegality The legality of an administrative action is evaluated based on five elements in the doctrine and Article 2/1-a of the Administrative Procedure Law. Clearly stating in the petition which of these elements the annulment request is based on determines the framework of the defense and facilitates the court's supervision. Authority element: It concerns whether the authority that established the transaction is legally authorized to perform that transaction. The procedure instituted by an unauthorized authority is considered one of the most serious forms of disability. Formal element: It expresses whether the transaction is established in accordance with the procedural and formal rules stipulated in the law (such as giving justification, taking a decision of the relevant board, requesting a defense). Reason element: It relates to the reality and adequacy of the legal and material facts on which the transaction is based. If the facts on which the administration is based are not real or are not suitable to justify the action, the action is disabled in terms of the causal element. Subject element: It expresses whether the legal result of the transaction is in accordance with the law or whether it produces a result that is not foreseen by the law. Purpose element: The purpose of the administrative action must always be the public interest. The administration's personal, political or Küheylan Law Firm — © 2026 All Rights Reserved. 1 / 5 Establishing a transaction for the purpose of protecting third parties makes the transaction unlawful in terms of the purpose element, and this situation is called "perversion of authority" in practice. Even if only one of these five elements is defective, it is sufficient to cancel the transaction; It is also possible to rely on more than one reason for disability in the petition.
3. Competency to File a Lawsuit and Hostility In order to file an annulment lawsuit, in addition to the general capacity to sue, "violation of interest", which is a condition specific to administrative jurisdiction, is required. Unlike full jurisdiction cases, a right does not need to be directly violated in an annulment case; The existence of a current, personal and legitimate interest relationship between the transaction and the person is considered sufficient. For example, a bidder who made a bid in a tender may file a lawsuit against the award of the tender to another bidder as the person whose interests have been violated. The defendant party is shown as the administrative authority that established the transaction. If the authority that carries out the transaction and the authority that implements the transaction are different, a lawsuit can also be filed against the administration that carries out the application. In lawsuits filed on behalf of bodies of public legal entities, the relevant legal entity (e.g. a university rectorate, a mayor's office or a ministry) must be named as the defendant; A lawsuit cannot be filed against the person who signed the transaction.
4. Competent and Competent Court The competent court in annulment cases is, as a rule, the administrative court. In disputes regarding taxes, duties and charges, as well as their increases and penalties, the duty belongs to the tax court. In cases listed by law, such as presidential decrees, international agreements and some regulatory transactions covering more than one province, the Council of State is responsible as the court of first instance. The general rule in terms of jurisdiction is the administrative court where the administrative authority that establishes the transaction is located. However, special authority rules such as the place where the real estate is located in transactions related to real estate and the place where the official works in transactions related to public officials are also regulated in the legislation.
5. Period for Filing a Case The period for filing a lawsuit for annulment against administrative acts is sixty days in administrative courts and the Council of State, and thirty days in tax courts, unless there is a special regulation in accordance with Article 7 of the IYUK. These periods are restrictive; If the deadline is missed, the transaction becomes final and a lawsuit cannot be filed again against the same transaction. The period starts to run from the day following the announcement date when the written notification is notified to the relevant person, if the transaction is an announced regulation, and in cases where the relevant person learns about the transaction in another way, from the date of learning. In some special laws, different and shorter periods for filing a lawsuit may be prescribed than the general periods. For this reason, the period to be applied to the transaction must first be determined within the framework of the relevant special legislation; If no specific period is stipulated, the general period of sixty days applies.
5.1. Effect of Application to the Higher Authority on Time Before filing an administrative lawsuit, an application can be made to the higher authority, or if there is no higher authority, to the authority that made the transaction, with a request to remove, reverse, change or establish a new transaction. This application stops the period for filing a lawsuit that has already started; If no response is given within thirty days, the request is deemed to be implicitly rejected. In case of rejection or implied rejection, the period starts from where it left off and the time until the application date is also included in this calculation. For this reason, an application to a higher authority should be considered as a mechanism that suspends the period, not as a way to restart the period for filing a lawsuit.
6. Form and Content Conditions of the Petition. The petition must clearly include the identity and address information of the parties, the date and number of the transaction in question, the date of notification or learning of the transaction, the reasons for cancellation, the legal and material evidence relied on, and the result of the request. If one of these elements is missing, Küheylan Law Firm — © 2026 All Rights Reserved. In case of 2 / 5, the court may issue a "petition rejection" decision giving the plaintiff time to correct the petition within thirty days; If the deficiency is not corrected within this period, the lawsuit is deemed not to have been filed. Along with the petition, the documents that form the basis of the transaction, correspondence regarding the application to the higher authority, if any, and documents that will prove the damage must also be submitted to the court. Since the principle of ex officio investigation is valid in administrative jurisdiction, the court may request documents and information it deems necessary from the administration; However, it is important for the plaintiff to present the evidence he has in full in order to speed up the process.
7. Request for Suspension of Execution. Filing an annulment case does not automatically stop the execution of the administrative action in question; The transaction continues to benefit from the presumption of legality while the lawsuit is pending. Since this rule may, in some cases, lead to irreparable consequences for the plaintiff, the legislator has foreseen the institution of "stay of execution" (shortly YD) in Article 27 of the IYUK. Stay of execution is not an independent type of action on its own; It can only be requested together with an annulment lawsuit that has been filed or is being filed.
7.1. Conditions for Suspension of Execution In order for a stay of execution to be decided, the defendant administration's defense must have been taken or the defense period must have passed; As a rule, the court cannot make a decision in this direction without listening to the administration. The exception to this general rule is transactions whose effect would be exhausted by their implementation; In such proceedings, the court may issue a temporary stay of execution without taking the defense and re-evaluates its decision after the defense is received. Concerning the merits of the decision, two conditions are required to be met together: The transaction must be clearly unlawful: The court must reach a strong opinion on the illegality of the transaction at first glance and as a result of its examination of the file. Damage that is difficult or impossible to compensate for: If the transaction continues to be implemented, irreversible damage must occur, even if an annulment decision is made at the end of the case. The decision to demolish a building, the deportation of a person or the suspension of a student from school are examples of such irreparable consequences. These two conditions are cumulative; The presence of only one is not sufficient for a stay of execution. The court must give its decision with reasons; The decision must clearly indicate the reasons why the administrative action is clearly against the law and the irreparable or impossible damages that may arise if the action is implemented.
7.2. Guarantee Condition: The court may decide to stay the execution in return for a guarantee; However, depending on the circumstances of the concrete case, guarantee may not be required. No guarantee is required from people benefiting from the administration and legal aid. Disputes regarding collateral are resolved by the court that decides on the stay of execution.
7.3. Special Situation in Tax Disputes Pursuant to Article 27/3 of the IYUK, filing of lawsuits arising from tax disputes in the tax courts automatically stops the collection of the assessed taxes, duties and fees, as well as their increases and penalties, for the part of the lawsuit that is the subject of the lawsuit; There is no need to request a stay of execution in these cases. On the other hand, taxes accrued on declarations submitted with reservations and collection transactions carried out in accordance with Law No. 6183 (such as payment order, seizure, provisional lien) are excluded from this exception; For these transactions, a separate and express stay of execution must be requested.
8. Objection to the Suspension of Execution Decision: An objection can be made to the regional administrative court, only once, against the stay of execution decisions given by the administrative and tax courts and the single judge, within seven days from the day following the notification of the decision. The right to object is granted to the plaintiff whose request is rejected, as well as to the defendant administration against the decisions whose request is accepted. Against the decisions of the regional administrative court, an objection is made to the nearest regional administrative court, and against the decisions of the Council of State litigation chambers, an objection is made to the Board of Administrative or Tax Case Chambers, depending on the subject.
Küheylan Law Firm — © 2026 All Rights Reserved. 3 / 5 The objection authority must make a final decision on the objection received within seven days; This period is a natural consequence of the urgent and temporary protection nature of the institution. Although in practice this period may actually be exceeded, it is a legal obligation to examine the objection on a priority basis. In matters subject to urgent trial procedure and in some decisions made by regional administrative courts in the capacity of appeal, the possibility of objecting to the stay of execution decision is closed.
9. Implementation of the Cancellation Decision and the Stay of Execution Decision The annulment or stay of execution decisions given by the court are binding on the administration. The administration must fulfill the requirements of the decision without delay, within thirty days at the latest; For stay of execution decisions, this period is kept shorter so that it can be implemented immediately due to the nature of the decision. Failure to implement the decision intentionally or negligently by the administration may result in both compensation liability and administrative and criminal consequences for the relevant public officials. While the annulment decision eliminates the transaction from the beginning (with retroactive effect), the stay of execution decision only renders the transaction temporarily ineffective until the case is concluded; The final outcome of the transaction is determined by hearing and deciding the case on its merits.
Criteria Cancellation Case Nature of Request for Suspension of Execution Independent, substantive type of case Temporary protection measure attached to the annulment case Duration 60 days (administrative court) / 30 days (tax court) Can be requested at any time together with the case or during the case. Obvious illegality of the Requested Transaction in terms of authority, form, reason, subject or purpose + irreparable or impossible damage Contrary to the Conditions (together) Result of the Transaction to be terminated with retroactive effect Failure to temporarily implement the procedure until the end of the case Objection Way Appeal / appeal (subject to legal remedies) Objection to the regional administrative court within 7 days Concrete Implementation Scenario Incident Summary Form The district municipality has established an action regarding the suspension of the activities of a workplace on the grounds that it is unlicensed and additionally the partial demolition of the building; The transaction was notified to the business owner. The business owner thinks that the building was built in accordance with the current zoning legislation and that the license application was unfairly delayed by the administration.
Application and Legal Process Küheylan Law Firm, which was applied for on the tenth day after the notification of the transaction, first examined the zoning status certificate and correspondence regarding the license application process; Considering that the transaction was against the law in terms of cause, a lawsuit for annulment was filed in the relevant administrative court within a period of sixty days, and the request for stay of execution was also included in the petition in detail. A technical assessment and photographic determination report stating that the demolition would cause irreversible damage were attached to the petition.
Conclusion: After hearing the defense of the administration, the court decided to stay the execution on the grounds that the transaction was clearly against the law and the demolition would cause irreparable damage; In this way, the demolition process has become practically inapplicable until the case is concluded on its merits.
10. Frequently Asked Questions Can only a stay of execution be requested without filing an annulment lawsuit?
Küheylan Law Firm — © 2026 All Rights Reserved. 4 / 5 Nope. Stay of execution is not an independent type of case in administrative jurisdiction; It can only be requested in an annulment lawsuit that has been filed or filed with the same petition.
If I miss the deadline to file a lawsuit, will I have no legal recourse? As a rule, after the period has passed, an annulment lawsuit cannot be filed against the same transaction and the transaction becomes final. However, in cases where the transaction is null and void, no time limit is required; In addition, a full jurisdiction lawsuit may be considered under separate conditions for compensation for the damage arising from the transaction.
What can I do if my request for stay of execution is rejected? An objection may be made to the regional administrative court within seven days from the notification of the rejection decision. It is also possible to request a stay of execution based on a different justification or a new fact or evidence that emerges while the trial is ongoing.
Can I file a lawsuit directly without appealing to a higher authority? Yes. Appeal to higher authority is not a mandatory prerequisite, but an optional means; You can apply directly to the administrative court within the filing period. Applying to a higher authority is a preferable option only in terms of its effect of stopping the period.
Attention: Frequently Made Mistakes in the Process Not calculating the time according to the date of notification rather than the date of learning: The date when the transaction was actually learned and the date when the notification was duly made may be different; If the time calculation is made incorrectly, the case may be deemed not to have been filed within due time. Not justifying the request for stay of execution: Making the request simply by saying "we request the stay of execution" without citing concrete reasons for illegality and harm may lead to the rejection of the request. Showing the defendant administration as wrong: In cases where the administration that established the transaction and the administration that implemented it are different, incomplete formation of the parties creates the risk of rejection of the case due to procedural reasons. Missing the petition rejection period: Failure to correct the deficiency within the thirty-day correction period granted by the court will result in the case being deemed not filed. Missing the objection period against YD's rejection decision: Exceeding the seven-day objection period will result in the definitive loss of this protection opportunity.
Conclusion The case for annulment of administrative action is the most basic control mechanism that ensures the legal security of the individual against the administration; However, benefiting from this protection requires meticulous compliance with strict formal conditions and exclusion periods. In particular, the justification of the request for stay of execution, the concrete presentation of the irreparable damage, and the preparation of the petition to include all elements of the administrative action are the factors that directly determine the outcome of the process. With its knowledge of the current legislation in the field of administrative and tax law and the jurisprudence of the Council of State, Küheylan Law Firm offers comprehensive legal support to its clients at every stage of the process of filing a lawsuit against administrative actions - from the preparation of the petition to the follow-up of the request for stay of execution.
Hunting. Mert Deniz Küheylan Important Legal Notice: The legal explanations in this guide have been prepared by Küheylan Law Firm for general information purposes and do not constitute legal advice. Since the unique circumstances of each file may change the outcome, it is recommended to seek support from an administrative law attorney from the beginning of the process.
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