This is the English version of a Turkish article. The original, with further detail and linked petition templates, is at Kısmi Dava, Islah ve Talep Artırımı.
In an employment, compensation or matrimonial property claim the amount cannot be known at the outset; it becomes clear only after the expert report. So what figure goes in the claim form?
The answer to that question changed on 31 July 2026. This article sets out the new scheme and the transitional rules.
The Reform: Act No. 7589
For many years, debts whose amount could not be fixed at the outset were pursued by a claim for an indeterminate sum under Article 107 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
Act no. 7589 (Official Gazette, 31 July 2026) repealed Article 107. A claim for an indeterminate sum can no longer be brought.
The same Act added a fourth paragraph to Article 109, introducing an increase in the amount claimed in a partial claim.
Under it the claimant may, in a partial claim and until the investigation stage ends, increase the amount claimed once. The provisions on amendment do not apply to that increase, and the other side's consent is not required.
Most importantly: for the part added, limitation is treated as interrupted at the date of the claim.
That last rule preserves the essential advantage the claim for an indeterminate sum used to give.
Transitional rule: claims for an indeterminate sum brought before the Act came into force are concluded under the provisions in force when they were brought. Cases on foot therefore continue under the former rules.
The Partial Claim
Article 109/1: where the subject matter is by its nature divisible, only a part of it may be pursued by proceedings.
In a partial claim only part of the debt is claimed, and the right to claim the balance is reserved.
It serves two purposes:
- Reducing the fee. The court fee is charged on the amount claimed.
- Seeing the outcome. The true size of the claim becomes clear after the expert report.
The words that must appear in the claim form: that the claim is made “reserving our rights as to the balance”. Without them, a later increase becomes contentious.
Under the new provision, the amount in a partial claim may be increased once, until the investigation stage ends — which allows the claim to be raised to the true figure after the expert report.
Amendment Is Something Wider
Amendment is a separate and broader institution.
Article 176: each party may amend the procedural steps they have taken, in whole or in part. In the same case the parties may resort to amendment only once.
Article 177: amendment is possible until the investigation stage ends.
What can be done by amendment: changing the subject matter, increasing the relief sought, correcting the facts relied on, and the limited cases concerning a change of party.
Article 179: an amendment has the effect that all procedural steps, from the point the amending party extends it to, are treated as not having been taken.
The critical difference: where the increase is made by amendment, the other side may raise a plea of limitation, and the part that became time-barred before the date of the amendment is dismissed.
Where the increase is made under Article 109/4, by contrast, limitation is treated as interrupted at the date of the claim. That is the new provision's chief advantage.
Which Route, and When
A practical guide:
- The debt is divisible and its amount unknown at the outset: bring a partial claim, reserve the balance, and increase the amount under Article 109/4 after the report.
- You need a change other than to the amount (the cause of action, the facts, the type of relief): use amendment.
- You need to increase the amount a second time: Article 109/4 is available once only; amendment can then be used, but it carries the limitation risk.
- The limitation risk is high: use Article 109/4 wherever you can, because a plea of limitation can be raised against an amendment.
There is one further route: under Article 141 the parties may extend or change their claim or defence until the preliminary examination stage is completed, with the express consent of the other side. Where one party fails to attend the preliminary hearing without excuse, the party who attends may extend or change their case without that consent.
The bar on extending or changing the claim or the defence is subject to those exceptions: amendment, and the express consent of the other side.
Practical Points
- Include the reservation. “Reserving our rights as to the balance” is indispensable in a partial claim.
- Increase the interest claim too. State expressly in the increase that interest is claimed on the added amount as well; otherwise the addition carries no interest.
- Pay the fee. An additional fee is payable on the increase, and if it is not paid in time the increase may be treated as ineffective.
- Do it before the investigation closes. Both the increase and amendment are available only until then.
- Amendment is once only. Under Article 176 the parties may amend only once in the same case; do not spend that right early.
- Pending cases stay under the old rules. Claims for an indeterminate sum brought before 31 July 2026 are concluded under the provisions in force when they were brought.
Finally: when the expert report is served, mark the calendar. Time starts to run both for challenging the report and for increasing the claim, and the two have to be managed together.
Act no. 7589 (Official Gazette, 31 July 2026) repealed Article 107 and put in its place, by Article 109/4, a single increase in the amount claimed in a partial claim. On that increase, limitation is treated as interrupted at the date of the claim. Claims brought before that date are concluded under the former provisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still bring a claim for an indeterminate sum?
No. Article 107 was repealed by Act no. 7589 with effect from 31 July 2026. Claims brought before that date continue under the former provisions.
How do I increase the amount now?
By bringing a partial claim and using the single increase under Article 109/4, available until the investigation stage ends. Amendment does not apply to it and the other side's consent is not needed.
Does the increase carry the limitation risk?
No. On an increase under Article 109/4 limitation is treated as interrupted at the date of the claim. On an increase by amendment, a plea of limitation can be raised.
What if I need to increase the amount twice?
Article 109/4 is available once only. A second increase must be made by amendment, which carries the limitation risk.
What must the claim form say?
That the claim is brought reserving your rights as to the balance. Without that reservation a later increase becomes contentious.