Release (discharge) agreement

Under Turkish law, a release document (ibraname) records that a creditor has discharged the debtor or received satisfaction of a claim. It rests on a release agreement by which the parties agree that the debt is wholly or partly extinguished, barring any future lawsuit or enforcement for the released amount.

Its most sensitive field is employment law. Releases signed by employees at the end of the employment relationship are valid only under strict conditions: the document must be in writing, executed only after the statutory period following termination, itemise the types and amounts of the claims, and the payments must have been made in full through a bank.

Releases lacking these elements are null and void. Where payment was only partial, the document operates merely as a receipt limited to the amount actually paid.