In radio and television broadcasts the right of correction and reply is governed not by Press Law No. 5187 but by Article 18 of Law No. 6112. The periods and the procedure differ; applying the print timetable costs the right.
When the right arises and the periods
Article 18(1): “Natural and legal persons shall send a correction and reply text to the media service provider concerned within sixty days of the date of broadcast where a broadcast is made infringing their honour and dignity or contrary to the truth in relation to them, provided that it is not contrary to the legally protected interests of third parties and contains no element of an offence.”
The paragraph continues: “Media service providers shall broadcast the correction and reply without making any correction or addition, within seven days at the latest of receipt of the text, at the hour and in the programme in which the broadcast giving rise to the reply and correction was made, in a manner that can be easily followed and clearly understood by viewers.”
| Step | Period | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Sending the text | 60 days from the date of broadcast | Art. 18(1) |
| Broadcasting it | Within 7 days at the latest of receipt | Art. 18(1) |
| Application to court if not broadcast | 10 days from expiry of the period | Art. 18(2) |
| Application if broadcast defectively | 10 days from the date of broadcast | Art. 18(2) |
| Decision of the criminal judge of peace | 3 days, without a hearing | Art. 18(3) |
| Objection to the criminal court of first instance | 7 days from notification | Art. 18(3) |
| Examination of the objection | 3 working days, final decision | Art. 18(3) |
| Additional time for heirs | 30 days added to the time remaining | Art. 18(5) |
Where it is broadcast: the same hour, the same programme
The broadcasting counterpart of the “same page and column” rule in print is this: the reply is broadcast at the hour and in the programme in which the broadcast complained of was made. The purpose is that the audience which saw the original should see the reply.
The third sentence of Article 18(1) covers a special case: “Where the programme giving rise to the right of correction and reply has been taken off air or its broadcast suspended, the right of correction and reply shall be exercised, within the seven-day period, at the broadcasting hour of that programme.”
Application to court
Article 18(2): where the text is not broadcast, from expiry of the period, and where it is broadcast contrary to the rules, from the date of that broadcast, the person concerned may within ten days request the court to order that the reply and correction be broadcast in accordance with the rules.
The competent court: “the criminal court of peace of the place where the applicant resides, and where the applicant resides abroad, the Ankara Criminal Court of Peace.”
Applying directly to the court
Article 18(7) offers a possibility not found in Law No. 5187: “The person concerned may request the right of reply and correction referred to in the first paragraph, within the same periods, directly from the criminal court of peace.” There is therefore no requirement to approach the provider first.
Damages: joint and several liability
Article 18(6): “For pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage arising from broadcasting services that infringe the personality rights of natural and legal persons, the media service provider undertaking together with the producer of the programme shall be jointly and severally liable.”
The administrative sanction
A breach of the correction and reply duty may give rise to an administrative fine under Article 32/2 of Law No. 6112: one to three per cent of the gross commercial communication revenue for the month preceding the month in which the breach was established; not less than TRY 1,000 for radio undertakings and TRY 10,000 for television undertakings and on-demand media service providers. Article 8/1(o) further requires broadcasting services “to respect the right of reply and correction of persons or institutions”.
TRT is subject to a separate regime
For TRT broadcasts the right of reply is exercised not under Article 18 of Law No. 6112 but under Article 27 of Law No. 2954, and the periods are far shorter: seven days to request, three days to broadcast, two days to object. We set that regime out in detail in the TRT reply guide.
The print regime is covered in the correction guide and the internet regime in the online news guide.