WHAT ARE THE CHANGES INTRODUCED REGARDING THE "EXTENSION AND CHANGE OF CLAIMS AND DEFENSE" IN THE CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE NUMBERED 6100 WITH THE LAW NO. 7251? 15 October 2020

Many amendments have been made in the Code of Civil Procedure numbered 6100 with the Law No.7251 which published on Official Gazette dated 28.07.2020 and numbered 31199.

We are going to examine the new regulations and changes in the Civil Procedure Law No. 6100 regarding the extension and change of the claims and defense which is one of these amendments.

What is the Prohibition on the Extension and Change of Claims and Defense?

The prohibition on extension of the claim and defense is a restriction regulated in our Code of Civil Procedure numbered 6100, resulting from binding the claim and defense to some procedural rules. This restriction is a rule of procedural law introduced in order to allow the parties to put forward their claims and defenses and the facts on which they are based, up to a certain jurisdiction and to continue the trial process in a healthy manner.

How was the regulation of the Prohibition on Extension of the Claim and Defense prior to the Amendment, What were the Exceptions?

The former provision of Paragraph 1 of Article 141 of the Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100 was as follows;

“Article 141 – (1) The parties shall extend or change their allegations and arguments freely for the rejoinder and surrejoinder petitions; yet for the preliminary investigation phase, the express consent of the other party is required. In case that one of the parties does not attend the preliminary investigation hearing unexcused, the present party may extend or change its allegation and argument without the consent of the inattentive party. Subsequent to the conclusion of the preliminary investigation phase, the allegation or argument shall not be extended or changed.

In accordance with this regulation, the exceptions to the above-mentioned prohibition were as follows, unlike the new regulation: In the preliminary investigation hearing, with the express consent of the other party or without the need for consent. If one of the parties does not attend to the preliminary investigation hearing without an excuse, the claim and defense were allowed to be changed or extended by the present party.

How has the Regulation on the Prohibition on Extension of Claims and Defense Changed with the New Amendment?

With the Regulation under the Article 15 of the Law No. 7251 Amending the Code of Civil Procedure, which entered into force after being published in the Official Gazette numbered 31199 dated 28.07.2020:

“Article 15 - The first paragraph of Article 141 of the Law No. 6100 has been changed as follows.

“(1) The parties may freely expand or change their claims or defenses with their rejoinder and surrejoinder petitions. After the submission of the petitions by both of the parties, the claim or defense cannot be extended or changed. "

With this regulation, it has been regulated that the prohibition on extension of the claims and defense is going to begin at the end of the exchange of petitions. Thus, the possibility of extension and changing the claims and defense in the preliminary investigation hearing with the consent of the other party or without the consent in the case which the other party does not attribute and  the judicial process is aimed to be accelerated.

Has the Possibility on Extension or Change of the Claim and Defense Completely Eliminated with the New Regulation?

Based on the fact that there is no amendment in Article 176 of the Code of Civil Procedure numbered 6100; it is out of the question that the elimination of the possibility of extension or change of the claim and defense completely. 

When we look at Article 176 of the Code of Civil Procedure it is seen that there is an arrangement in the form of:

““Article 176 – (1) Each of the parties may partially or completely amend the procedural transactions it has made.”

which means that if one of the parties wants to extend their claim or defense and if they have lost their right in this regard because they missed the period allowed in Article 141, parties can extend or change their claim and defense by applying the method of amendment of pleading and can also add the cases and facts that support these claims to the file.

However, the point to be considered is the regulation in the second paragraph of the same article which is: "(2) In the same case, the parties can only apply to the amendment of pleading method once". For this reason, if the parties want to extend or change the claim and defense, they should be careful to use their amendment of pleading rights correctly and at the right time, considering that they can only use this right once.