Abstract:

While the Law on Labour Courts No. 5521 was in force, the competent court for disputes arising from non-compete agreements was acknowledged, de lege lata, as commercial court as per Article 4/1-c of the new Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102. This approach was also in line with judicial decisions. However, it was also argued that the competent court should be, de lege feranda, labour courts. With the inclusion of Article 5 titled “Competency” into the new Law on Labour Courts dated 25.10.2017 and No. 7036, the issue of whether disputes arising from non-compete agreements regulated under Article 444 et seq. of Turkish Law of Obligations numbered 6098, fall within the jurisdiction of labour courts needs to be addressed. In this study, the main focus will be whether disputes arising from non-compete agreements fall within the competence of labour courts, in accordance with wording of Article 5 of Law on Labour Courts which is as follows: “the agreements due to the employment relationship”. While focusing on the main problem by interpreting the will of the lawmaker, applicable provision for the disputes arising from the non-compete agreements are going to be elaborated, in light of the (i) wording of the both provisions, (ii) lex specialis-lex genaralis relationship between both provisions, (iii) purpose of the provisions, (iv) ratio legis, (v) scope of applicability of both provisions, (vi) opinions put forward in the literature and (vii) judicial decisions.

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