This is the English version of a Turkish article. The original, with further detail and linked petition templates, is at CİMER, Bilgi Edinme ve İdareye Başvuru: Hangisi Ne Zaman?.
These routes do not all have the same effect, and the critical difference is what they do to the deadline for suing. A petition or a freedom of information request does not stop time running. Applications under Articles 10 and 11 of the Administrative Procedure Act do. Choose the wrong one and the sixty-day period keeps running.
You have a problem with a public authority and do not know where to take it: the petition system, a freedom of information request, or a letter to the institution itself?
All of them rest on different statutes, and their effect on the deadline differs. This article makes clear which to use when.
Freedom of Information
The Right to Information Act (no. 4982) governs everyone's right to information. Its purpose is access to the information and documents held by public bodies.
The request is made to the body holding the information, and must state clearly what is sought.
Time: the body provides access within fifteen working days. Where the information must be obtained from another unit, the opinion of another institution is needed, or the scope exceeds one person's or unit's competence, that can be extended to thirty working days.
Objection: where the request is refused, an objection may be made to the Information Review Board within fifteen days of the notification. The Board decides within thirty working days, and the objection stops the period for suing.
The Act also lists the limits: state secrets, the country's economic interests, intelligence, information relating to criminal investigations and prosecutions, privacy, trade secrets and intellectual property.
When to use it: to obtain documents. Before suing, it is the most effective way of getting hold of what is in your file.
The Petition System
The presidential communication centre channels, through a single point, the applications made under the constitutional right of petition (Article 74), the Right of Petition Act (no. 3071) and the Right to Information Act.
What can be done through it: complaints, reports, information requests, and submitting views and proposals.
Article 7 of Act no. 3071: petitions by Turkish citizens, and by foreign nationals resident in Turkey on a reciprocal basis, concerning themselves or the public, must be answered with reasons within thirty days, informing the petitioner of the outcome or the stage the matter has reached. Where the stage is notified, the outcome is notified afterwards as well.
When to use it: to report something not done, a delay, or an irregularity — and to get the administration moving while creating a written record.
Note: a petition does not by itself stop the period for suing. If you intend to sue, consider the Administrative Procedure Act routes as well.
Article 10: Where the Administration Does Nothing
This is for cases where the administration has taken no action at all.
Article 10: those concerned may apply to administrative authorities for an act or measure that could be the subject of administrative proceedings.
If no answer is given within sixty days, the request is treated as refused — a deemed refusal. Proceedings may then be brought within the period for suing, running from the end of the sixty days.
Where an answer given within the sixty days is not final, the person may treat it as a refusal and sue, or wait for the final answer, in which case the period does not run. But the waiting cannot exceed six months from the application.
When to use it: where the administration is leaving your request unanswered and you want to sue. A deemed refusal creates the right to bring proceedings.
Article 11: Where an Act Already Exists
This is used where an administrative act has already been made.
Article 11: before bringing proceedings, those concerned may ask the superior authority — or, where there is none, the authority that made the act — for the act to be withdrawn, revoked or amended, or for a new act to be made, within the period for bringing proceedings.
That application stops the period for suing that has begun to run.
If no answer comes within sixty days the request is treated as refused. On refusal, or deemed refusal, the period starts to run again — and the time that had already elapsed counts.
When to use it: where an act has been made against you and you want one more chance to persuade the administration before suing.
The critical warning: this application stops the clock, but the elapsed time counts. Apply on the fiftieth day of a sixty-day period and you will have ten days left after the refusal. So apply early.
Which Route
- You want documents: a freedom of information request.
- You want the administration to act: a petition, or a letter to the institution.
- Your request is being ignored and you intend to sue: an application under Article 10; a deemed refusal arises after sixty days.
- An act has been made against you and you want a last attempt before suing: an application to the superior authority under Article 11.
A practical sequence: obtain the documents in your file by a freedom of information request, then decide what to seek against which act, and manage the deadlines accordingly.
In every case, keep the record of your application: the reference number, the registered mail record, the recorded delivery receipt or the institution's registration number. Those records decide arguments about time.
An application to the superior authority stops the period — but when it starts again after refusal, the time already elapsed is counted. Apply on the fiftieth day of sixty and only ten remain. Apply early, and keep every record.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a petition stop the deadline for suing?
No. Neither a petition nor a freedom of information request stops the sixty-day period. Only applications under Articles 10 and 11 do.
How long does a freedom of information request take?
Fifteen working days, extendable to thirty in defined cases. A refusal can be taken to the Information Review Board within fifteen days, and that objection does stop the period for suing.
What is a deemed refusal?
Where the administration gives no answer within sixty days to an application under Article 10, the request is treated as refused, and the period for suing runs from the end of those sixty days.
What does an Article 11 application do?
It stops the period for suing while the superior authority considers the matter — but when it restarts, the time already elapsed counts against you.
Which route should I take first?
Usually a freedom of information request, to obtain the documents; then decide what to challenge, and choose the Article 10 or Article 11 route with the deadline in mind.