Press Law No. 5187 is not the only legislation governing a publication. Running a newspaper or a news site also brings in the law on legal deposit, printing houses, elections, service of process, the broadcasting levy, advertising and damages. This map gathers, under twenty-nine headings, the instruments that sit outside press law but bind the press directly.
The Legislation Layered Over a Publication
| Field | Legislation | What it brings |
|---|---|---|
| Publication | Press Law No. 5187 | Declaration, imprint, responsible editor, delivery, archive |
| Employees | Press Labour Law No. 5953 | Contract, wages, leave, severance |
| Radio-TV | Law No. 6112 | Licensing, broadcasting principles, commercial communication |
| Official announcements | Law No. 195 and Agency decisions | Periodical status, staffing, announcement distribution |
| Archiving | Legal Deposit Law No. 6279 | Mandatory copies to libraries |
| Printing | Printing Houses Law No. 5681 | The printing house declaration |
| Elections | Law No. 298 | Broadcasting bans, rules on polls |
| The levy | TRT Revenues Law No. 3093 | Bandrol charges |
| Transmission | Electronic Communications Law No. 5809 | Frequencies and authorisation |
| Service of process | Service legislation | Publication of service by announcement in a newspaper |
1. Legal Deposit: Mandatory Copies to Libraries
Law No. 6279 on the Legal Deposit of Reproduced Intellectual and Artistic Works (adopted 22/2/2012; Official Gazette 29/2/2012-28219) brings a copy obligation separate from the delivery in Art. 10 of the Press Law.
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- who-is-liable-for-legal-deposit-turkey
- how-many-legal-deposit-copies-and-where-turkey
- penalty-for-breaching-legal-deposit-turkey
- are-legal-deposit-copies-tax-deductible-turkey
- press-law-delivery-versus-legal-deposit-turkey
| Obligation | Number | Period | Where | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delivery to the prosecutor's office | 2 signed | The same day | The public prosecutor's office of the locality | Law No. 5187 Art. 10 |
| Legal deposit | 6 - 2 for a local/regional newspaper | 15 days | The deposit libraries | Law No. 6279 Arts. 8, 9 |
| The regional directorate | 1 | 5 days | The regional directorate + DES | Press Card Reg. Art. 15/g |
2. Printing Houses
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- does-a-digital-press-count-as-a-printing-house-turkey
- must-a-turkish-newspaper-be-printed-at-a-press
- must-a-newspaper-be-printed-where-it-is-published-turkey
Two Press Advertising Agency General Assembly Principle Decisions are decisive on the printing side: No. 176 (11/08/2006, Official Gazette 26262) provides that desktop digital printing machines cannot count as printing house presses, and No. 141 (16/08/1996, Official Gazette 22735) determines when the place-of-printing condition is relaxed.
3. The Election Period
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- election-day-broadcast-ban-hours-turkey
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- publishing-opinion-polls-during-elections-turkey
| Issue | Rule | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Radio-TV propaganda | From the 7th day before polling day until 6 p.m. on the day before | Law No. 298 Art. 52 |
| Publishing polls and research | Prohibited in the ten days before polling day | Law No. 298 Art. 55/B |
| Mandatory information in a poll story | The organisation + the number of respondents + the funding | Law No. 298 Art. 55/B |
| Propaganda by e-mail and telephone message | Prohibited - messages parties send to their own members are free | Law No. 298 Art. 55/B |
| Publication in breach of the ban | 3 months to 1 year of imprisonment | Law No. 298 Art. 151 |
| Supervision | The Supreme Election Council for nationwide broadcasters, district election boards for the rest - objection within 24 hours | Law No. 298 Art. 55/A |
4. Mandatory Notices and Service of Process
Agency General Assembly Principle Decision No. 126 (14/05/1993, Official Gazette 21604) shows the breadth of the definition of an official announcement: Law No. 195 treated as official announcements not only the notices of public institutions but all notices "whose publication is mandatory under laws, by-laws and regulations" (even where they belong to private law legal persons). The Law left out only the notices of private associations.
5. TRT and the Transmission Infrastructure
The division of powers: the Information and Communication Technologies Authority authorises electronic communication services; RTUK grants licences and transmission authorisations in respect of broadcasting services. Art. 29 of Law No. 6112 provides that platform and infrastructure operators authorised by BTK are subject to Law No. 6112 in respect of broadcasting services.
6. Professional Organisations
7. Administrative Fines and Objections
| Penalty | Imposing authority | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Breaches of Law No. 5953 | The regional director of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security | Administrative |
| A legal deposit breach | The highest civil administrator | Administrative |
| A breach of the broadcasting principles | RTUK | Administrative |
| Breaches of Law No. 5187 | A court | A judicial fine |
8. The Courts and the Scene
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The core safeguards at the scene: Art. 3 of Law No. 5187 (the right to acquire information), Art. 30 of the Constitution (press equipment may not be seized as an instrument of crime), Art. 12 of Law No. 5187 (no compulsion to disclose a source or give evidence) and Art. 22 of Law No. 5187 (preventing the publication, distribution or sale of printed works by violence or threat - imprisonment of up to two years).
9. Reading the Legislation
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- turkish-media-law-sources
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| Note | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (Amended: ...) | Amended | Law No. 5187 Art. 1 - 7418/1 |
| (Added: ...) | Added later | Law No. 5187 Art. 4 - 7418/3 |
| (Repealed: ...) | Removed from force | Law No. 5953 Art. 22 Union - 274/33 |
| (Annulled: ...) | Annulled by the Constitutional Court - the text does not appear in the consolidated version | Law No. 5953 Art. 20 - E.1992/36, K.1993/4 |
10. Advertising
11. Liability and New Technologies
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Art. 13 of Law No. 5187 holds the author of the work and the owner of the publication and, where there is one, the representative jointly and severally liable for material and moral damage arising from acts committed through printed works or internet news sites; where the legal person is a company, the board chair in joint stock companies and the most senior manager in other companies is liable together with the company.
Other Main Guides
| Guide | Scope |
|---|---|
| journalist-employment-rights-turkey | The Law No. 5953 regime: contract, wages, leave, notice and severance |
| starting-a-media-outlet-in-turkey | Declaration, imprint, responsible editor, delivery, archive, licensing |
| turkish-press-card-guide | Card types, conditions, quotas, application and cancellation |
| RTUK and Broadcasting Questions: Master Guide | Forty-five questions on RTUK and Turkish broadcasting on one page: fine calculation and licence revocation, protective symbols and child… |
| Turkish News Agencies and Support Legislation | Agency conditions and quotas, the legal status of Anadolu Agency, the Promotion Fund, the 1999 suspension law and the 2018 alignment package:… |
The Other Main Guides
| Guide | Scope |
|---|---|
| Turkish Press Law No. 5187: An Article-by-Article Guide | Definitions, the imprint, the declaration, liability, the right of reply, penalties |
| The Constitutional Basis of Press Freedom in Turkey | Constitution Arts. 13, 22, 25–32, 41, 90, 133 and 148 |
| RTÜK Legislation and Law No. 6112 | The 24 broadcasting principles, commercial communication, licensing, sanctions |
| TRT Legislation and Law No. 2954 | Broadcasting principles, the right of reply, liability, the levy |
| Harmful Publications and the Protection of Children in Turkey | Law No. 1117, the Board, the stamp, sale in envelopes, reporting on children |
| Copyright, Data Protection and Access to Information in Turkish News | Quotation, attribution, reader data and access to information |
| The Turkish Directorate of Communications: Organisation and Powers | Presidential Decree No. 14, the service units, 19 regional directorates, CIMER |
| Working as a Foreign Journalist in Turkey | Work permits, residence, card types, the letter of introduction, customs |
| The Right to Publish Official Announcements in Turkey | The waiting period, the staff, content, sales, traffic, indicators and the quota |
| The Press Advertisement Agency and Official Announcements in Turkey | The Agency’s organisation, the definition of an official announcement, the tariff, private announcements, principle decisions |
| Professions in the Turkish Press and Media: 90 Titles | Nine title lists, the 17 news fields and the press card quotas |
| Official Announcement Questions in Turkey | The official announcement questions most often asked in practice |