Suspension of the right to publish is temporary; termination is permanent. Article 113 of the Regulation on Official Announcements and Advertisements lists one by one the cases in which the right ends altogether. Below the sub-paragraphs of the article are grouped.
1. Suspension becoming permanent
Sub-paragraph (a) links suspension and termination: the right of a newspaper or online news site whose right to publish does not resume within six months of the date the suspension decision was notified to it comes to an end.
2. Publication stopped by judicial decision
Sub-paragraph (b): the right of newspapers whose publication is stopped, or online news sites whose access is blocked, by authorities empowered by law for more than six months within one year comes to an end.
For online news sites that sub-paragraph shows the direct effect of access-blocking decisions on the official announcement right.
3. Thresholds for interrupting publication
This is the most frequently encountered ground of termination, and different thresholds are provided for newspapers and online news sites.
| Type of publication | Threshold | Sub-para. |
|---|---|---|
| Newspapers | Interrupting publication for more than 3 days within a calendar year, consecutively or intermittently | (c) |
| Online news sites | Breaching continuity of publication for more than 7 days within a calendar year, consecutively or intermittently | (ç) |
There are two conditions common to both. First, the interruption must be due to the publication’s own fault or to causes whose remedy lies in its own hands. Second, for newspapers, it must fall outside the Ramadan and Sacrifice holidays — those days are not counted.
The word intermittently is critical: the days need not be consecutive. A newspaper that fails to publish on four scattered days within the year has also exceeded the threshold.
4. Failing to deliver printed copies
Two sub-paragraphs specific to newspapers make the delivery obligation a ground of termination:
| Newspaper | Threshold | Sub-para. |
|---|---|---|
| Daily newspapers concerned with official announcements | Failing to deliver the printed copies of 10 issues in time within a calendar year | (d) |
| Non-daily newspapers concerned with official announcements | Failing to deliver the printed copies of 5 issues in time within a calendar year | (e) |
The delivery obligation is regulated in Article 35.
5. Untrue copies and printing after the event
Sub-paragraph (f): the right of newspapers or magazines whose printed and electronic copies delivered to the Agency are untrue and misleading, or that subsequently print issues not published on their date, comes to an end.
That sub-paragraph targets directly the practice of closing a missed day by printing it later. Printing and delivering an issue that was not published does not correct the interruption breach; it creates a separate and heavier ground of termination.
6. Breach in changing the name or domain name
Sub-paragraph (g): the right of newspapers or online news sites that change their names or domain names contrary to the procedures and principles in Article 26 comes to an end.
Article 26 subjects changes of name and domain name to strict rules. See the name change guide.
7. Obstructing an inspection
Sub-paragraph (ğ): where the act of obstruction leads to a conviction by a final judicial decision, the right of newspapers or online news sites obstructing the inspection carried out by inspection boards comes to an end.
The condition in that sub-paragraph is striking: a final conviction is required for termination. Article 101, by contrast, separately provides that the right of a publication obstructing an inspection is suspended and that no compensation is applied for the period of suspension even where the right resumes. Obstruction therefore produces heavy consequences even without a conviction.
8. A case specific to magazines, and other grounds
- (h) Magazines that interrupt publication, or that combine two issues into one more than once within the same calendar year, or that gather more than one issue into a single issue.
- (ı) Periodicals whose transactions before the Agency, or the declarations and documents they submit, constitute an offence under Turkish Criminal Code No. 5237 and special criminal laws.
- (i) Periodicals notifying the Agency in signed form that they waive the right to publish.
How it applies during the waiting period
Article 16(3) introduces an important difference: in respect of newspapers or online news sites within the waiting period, the first paragraph of Article 113 is applied by reference to the start date of the waiting period instead of the calendar year.
These thresholds therefore operate in a publication that has not yet acquired the right; the counter runs not by the calendar year but from the date the waiting period began.
Conclusion
The right to publish ends where the breach is not remedied within six months of a suspension decision; where publication is stopped or access blocked by judicial decision for more than six months within a year; where publication is interrupted for more than three days in newspapers or continuity breached for more than seven days in online news sites; where the copy delivery thresholds are exceeded; on untrue copies; on a breach of the name or domain name change rules; on obstruction of an inspection; on combining issues in magazines; and on declarations constituting an offence or on waiver.
The difference between suspension and termination is covered in the suspension guide and objections in the appeal guide.