Assignment of claims

Under Turkish law, assignment (temlik) is the transfer of a claim from the creditor to a third party by contract. The assignee acquires the claim together with accessory rights such as interest and security; the underlying debt relationship stays the same, only the creditor changes.

The assignment must be in writing to be valid, but the debtor's consent is not required. Factoring transactions, transfers of bank loans and assignments of progress payments in construction projects are typical examples. Assignment may be excluded by statute, by agreement or by the nature of the claim.

Notifying the debtor matters for their protection: a debtor unaware of the assignment who pays the former creditor in good faith is discharged. The debtor may also raise against the assignee the defences available against the original creditor.