Turkish government moves to protect disputed privatizations

Hacer Boyacıoğlu HÜRRİYET / ANKARA

A draft regulation that was added to an omnibus bill in Parliament protects privatization transactions over five years from cancellation. DHA Photo

The government plans to prevent the annulment of some disputed privatizations in limbo using a new regulation that obstructs the re-transfer of privatized assets to the state.

A draft regulation that was added to an omnibus bill in Parliament protects privatization transactions over five years from cancellation.

The planned scheme brings a five-year expiration time for privatization transactions, ruling these tenders cannot be cancelled even with court decisions.

The government’s move came a year after the State Council, Turkey’s highest administrative court, suspended the execution of a decision made by the Cabinet to exempt privatizations from jurisdiction rule.

The Cabinet had made the decision for the issue in June 2012, in order to void prior legal rulings that cancelled the privatization of the Tüpraş, Eti Alüminyum, the Seka, Kuşadası and Çeşme ports.