Mistake (error)

Under Turkish law, mistake (yanılma) is a defect of consent in which a party concludes a contract under a false assumption about the true state of affairs. Where the mistake is material, the mistaken party may declare that it is not bound, rendering the contract voidable from its side.

The Code lists typical material mistakes: errors about the nature of the contract, its subject matter, the identity of the other party or the scope of the performance. Buying an ordinary object believed to be an antique, or land whose surface area proves very different, are classic examples. A mere error in motive is, as a rule, not material.

The right of avoidance must be exercised within the statutory period after the mistake is discovered. A party cannot invoke it contrary to good faith and, if the mistake was due to its own negligence, may owe compensation to the other side.