This is the English version of a Turkish article. The original, with further detail and linked petition templates, is at İcrada Ödeme Taahhüdü ve Taahhüdü İhlal Suçu.
Where an undertaking to pay given in an enforcement file is breached, the creditor's complaint can lead to coercive detention for up to three months (Article 340 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act). But an undertaking is valid only on strict conditions, and that is exactly where the defence lies: a complaint resting on an invalid undertaking is dismissed. The complaint must be made within three months of learning of the breach.
At the enforcement office you were told “give an undertaking and we will not attach anything”, and you signed. Did you know that signature carries a penal consequence?
Article 340 makes breach of an undertaking punishable by coercive detention. This article sets out when an undertaking is valid and what breach leads to.
What an Undertaking to Pay Is
Once enforcement has become final, the debtor may declare at the enforcement office that they will pay the debt on a given date or in instalments. That is an undertaking to pay.
Article 111: where the debtor, before the creditor requests a sale, undertakes to pay the debt in regular instalments and pays the first instalment immediately, the enforcement proceedings are stayed.
Creditor and debtor may also make an agreement at the enforcement office about the terms of payment.
What the debtor gets in return is the halting of attachment and sale, which is why it looks attractive.
But it has a price: breach of the undertaking carries a penal consequence.
What Happens on Breach
Article 340: where the debtor, without a reasonable excuse, breaches the terms of payment agreed with the creditor at the enforcement office, the enforcement court, on the creditor's complaint, orders coercive detention for up to three months.
This is not a sentence in the ordinary sense; it is coercive detention. Its purpose is not to punish but to compel payment.
The important consequence follows from that: once detention has begun, the debtor is released on paying the whole debt, or the sum they were obliged to pay into the enforcement office by that date; they are also released if they perform the undertaking, or if the creditor withdraws the complaint.
So payment ends the detention, and it does not appear on the criminal record.
The complaint period: under Article 347 the right to complain lapses three months after the act becomes known and, in any event, one year after it was committed.
When Is an Undertaking Valid?
A debtor facing a complaint of breach starts with the question whether the undertaking was valid at all. The conditions applied in settled practice:
- The creditor's consent, or that of their lawyer. An undertaking depends on the creditor's acceptance; a unilateral declaration is not a valid undertaking.
- The amount of the debt clearly fixed. The principal, accrued interest, the lawyer's fee and the costs must be itemised. An undertaking in which the total is not calculated precisely is invalid.
- The payment dates and instalments specified.
- Enforcement having become final.
- The undertaking given at the enforcement office and entered in the record.
The commonest ground of invalidity in practice is that the interest still to accrue was not calculated, leaving the total uncertain.
So take a copy of the record of the undertaking and check the items.
The defence of “reasonable excuse” is also available: serious illness, loss of employment or a natural disaster preventing payment can be established with documents.
| Condition | Effect if missing |
|---|---|
| The creditor's acceptance | Without it the undertaking has no effect |
| The total debt stated as a figure | If the amount is uncertain the undertaking is invalid |
| Interest, lawyer's fee and costs itemised | Without a breakdown the case for invalidity is stronger |
| Payment dates expressly stated | Uncertainty is a ground of invalidity |
| Given by the debtor or an authorised representative | An undertaking by someone without authority does not bind |
| Entered in the enforcement record | If it is not in the record it cannot be proved |
Coercive detention is not a punishment: it ends the moment the debt is paid.
Before You Sign
A practical checklist:
- Make a plan you can keep. This is an obligation with a penal consequence; do not sign on optimistic assumptions.
- Fix the total. Have the whole figure written in, including interest, the lawyer's fee and costs.
- Set realistic instalment dates, matched to when you are paid.
- Take a copy of the record.
- Pay into the enforcement file and keep the receipts. Payments handed to the creditor directly can count as a breach if they are not entered in the file.
That last point matters: debtors who have paid but whose payments were never recorded in the file are regularly complained against for breach.
Alternatives worth weighing: where the debt is disputed, a claim for a negative declaration rather than an undertaking; where means are limited, a complaint that the property is exempt from attachment and a request for instalments under Article 111.
If a Complaint Is Made
What to do:
- Attend the hearing. The complaint is heard in the enforcement court, and not attending tells against you.
- Argue that the undertaking is invalid: the amount uncertain, no consent from the creditor, the interest never calculated.
- Document the payments you made, and obtain the file account from the enforcement office.
- Document your reasonable excuse — a medical report, a notice of dismissal.
- Pay. Payment of the debt, or the creditor's withdrawal of the complaint, brings the sanction to an end.
An objection lies against the decision, and the period is short: seven days from its pronouncement or service.
Finally: coercive detention does not appear on the criminal record and ends on payment. But it is a sanction that in fact deprives you of your liberty, and it should not be treated lightly.
Breach leads, on the creditor's complaint, to coercive detention for up to three months. Against that, an undertaking is valid only if the creditor consented and the total debt, including interest, was clearly fixed. An undertaking without those elements is invalid.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the penalty for breaching an undertaking?
On the creditor's complaint, the enforcement court may order coercive detention for up to three months.
Does paying end the detention?
Yes. Paying the debt, performing the undertaking, or the creditor withdrawing the complaint all bring it to an end, and it does not appear on the criminal record.
When is an undertaking invalid?
Where the creditor did not consent, where the total debt including interest was not clearly fixed, where the dates are uncertain, where it was given by someone without authority, or where it was not entered in the enforcement record.
How long does the creditor have to complain?
Three months from learning of the breach, and in any event one year from the breach itself.
I paid the creditor directly — am I safe?
Not necessarily. Payments not entered in the enforcement file can be treated as a breach. Pay into the file and keep the receipts.