Whether the general assembly convening announcements of Agricultural Producer Unions are official announcements was clarified by the 2017 principle decision.

The Details of the Decision

FieldInformation
Decision number207
Decision date21.06.2017
Official Gazette date29.06.2017
Official Gazette number30109
Legal basisArticle 30 of Law No. 195

The Subject of the Decision

The decision addresses three questions together: are general assembly convening announcements within the scope of official announcements, do the Unions fall within the definition of other institutions established by law, and in which newspapers and through whom are those announcements published?

The Decision in Four Sub-Paragraphs

a) Proceeding from the fact that the publication of the general assembly meeting convening announcements of Agricultural Producer Unions in local newspapers, and of those of the Central Unions that are the upper organisations of those Unions in nationally distributed periodical (national) newspapers, has been made compulsory in their own statutes under Law No. 5200, it was decided that those announcements are among the official announcements within the scope of sub-paragraph (a) of Article 29 of Law No. 195 and of sub-paragraph (a) of the first paragraph of Article 5 of the Regulation on Official Announcements and Advertisements and the Periodicals That Will Publish Them,

b) that it is compulsory for those announcements to be published, through the Press Advertisement Agency or the relevant Governorships, in the newspapers holding the right to publish them according to the divisions of duty determined under Article 31 of Law No. 195 and the first and second paragraphs of Article 8 of the Regulation,

c) that, since the Agricultural Producer Unions and the Agricultural Producer Central Unions established under the provisions of Law No. 5200 are a professional organisation established by law, they may not be regarded as an Association and therefore fall within the definition of other institutions established by law contained in Article 42 of Law No. 195,

ç) that the private announcements and advertisements of the Agricultural Producer Unions and the Agricultural Producer Central Unions defined in Article 40 of Law No. 195, and their official advertisements stated in Article 7 of the Regulation, must be published, under Articles 42 and 43 of Law No. 195, in the periodicals holding the right to publish those official advertisements, through the Branch Directorates of the Agency in the places within the field of duty of the Press Advertisement Agency.

Table of Results

SubjectResult
Union general assembly convening announcementIn local newspapers — an official announcement (Law 195, Art. 29/a)
Central Union general assembly convening announcementIn nationally distributed (national) newspapers — an official announcement
IntermediaryThe Press Advertisement Agency or the relevant governorships — compulsory
The legal nature of the UnionsA professional organisation established by law — not regarded as an association
Scope of Law 195, Art. 42Within the definition of other institutions established by law
Their private announcements and official advertisementsThrough the Branch Directorates in the places within the field of duty of the Agency, in the periodicals holding the right

Why Does the Emphasis on “Not an Association” Matter?

Law 195, Art. 29/a: announcements whose publication is mandatory under a law, a Presidential Decree or a regulation (private associations excepted) are regarded as official announcements.

Similar Principle Decisions

Conclusion

Under General Assembly Principle Decision No. 207 of 21.06.2017, the general assembly convening announcements of Agricultural Producer Unions, to be published in local newspapers, and those of the Central Unions, to be published in nationally distributed (national) newspapers, are official announcements within the scope of Art. 29/a of Law No. 195 and must be published through the Press Advertisement Agency or the governorships. Because the Unions are a professional organisation established by law they are not regarded as an association, and they fall within the definition of “other institutions established by law” in Art. 42 of Law No. 195.