The rule you use today to calculate a journalist's severance pay comes from Law No. 212 of 1961; the imprint on your internet news site comes from Law No. 7418 of 2022; and the fee you receive for an official advertisement comes from a Presidential Decision dated 24 December 2025. Turkish press law is a field that has accumulated layer upon layer; knowing when and why a given provision arrived is the shortest route to reading today's text correctly.
This chronology is based on the dates that appear in the amendment footnotes of the laws themselves and in official publication references. Only events whose dates could be verified are listed; instruments whose dates do not appear in the sources have deliberately been left out. For the meaning of the terms, see the glossary of Turkish press law.
Four major turning points
Over a seventy-five-year period, four instruments established the field from the ground up. The rest of the chronology consists largely of amendments around these four.
- 1961 — Law No. 212: the principal restructuring of Law No. 5953. The journalist's regime of written contracts, seniority, notice, leave and overtime took its present shape with this law.
- 1961 — Law No. 195: the Press Advertising Agency (Basın İlan Kurumu, BİK) was established; the distribution of official advertisements was placed with the Agency and the regime of qualifying conditions for newspapers began.
- 2004 — Press Law No. 5187: repealed Law No. 5680 of 1950 and rewrote the regime of declarations, imprints, liability and the right of reply and correction.
- 2022 — Law No. 7418: brought internet news sites within the scope of Law No. 5187 and raised the press card regime to statutory level.
1950-1960: the Press Law and the journalist's own statute
At the start of the period, the print press was governed by Press Law No. 5680 of 15 July 1950. Two years later journalists obtained a separate employment law regime for intellectual and artistic workers, who fell outside the definition of 'worker' in the Labour Code. The only text that was in force before this period and remains in force today is Law No. 1117 of 1927 on the Protection of Minors from Harmful Publications.
| Date | Instrument | What it introduced |
|---|---|---|
| 15/7/1950 | Press Law No. 5680 | The basic press law of its era. Repealed in 2004 by Article 30 of Law No. 5187. |
| 13/6/1952 (Official Gazette 20/6/1952-8140) | Law No. 5953 on the Regulation of Relations between Employees and Employers in the Press Profession | Defined the journalist as a person working for remuneration in intellectual and artistic work; brought newspapers, periodicals and news and photograph agencies within its scope. |
| 12/2/1954 | Law No. 6253 | Added Additional Article 1 (working hours and overtime), Additional Article 2 and Additional Article 3 (administrative fine on employers who fail to pay overtime) to Law No. 5953. |
Effect today: the fact that journalists are governed by a separate statute rather than by Labour Code No. 4857 was established in this period and still holds. The eight-hour working day and the concept of overtime also rest on Additional Article 1, introduced by Law No. 6253 of 1954. For today's contract text, see our employment contract template compliant with Law No. 5953.
1961-1980: Law No. 212 and the Press Advertising Agency
The backbone of press employment law was laid in this period. Two laws enacted two days apart in January 1961 built the framework that carries both the journalist's individual rights and the economic infrastructure of the press through to the present day. The rest of the period was taken up with general social security and trade union legislation taking over the special provisions in Law No. 5953.
| Date | Instrument | What it introduced |
|---|---|---|
| 2/1/1961 | Law No. 195 on the Establishment of the Press Advertising Agency | Established the Press Advertising Agency as a public legal entity. The definition of official advertisement (Art. 29), the principles of distribution (Arts. 31, 32), the qualifying conditions for periodicals (Art. 34), the procedure for the price tariff (Art. 39) and the regime of sanctions (Art. 49) were laid down by this law. |
| 4/1/1961 | Law No. 212 | The principal restructuring of Law No. 5953. This law amended or added Articles 1, 4, 6, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 21, together with Additional Articles 1 and 4: the requirement of a written contract, promotion, severance pay, notice periods, the probationary period, advance payment of wages, the annual bonus, pay during military service and pregnancy, weekly rest and paid annual leave took their present shape. |
| 15/7/1963 | Trade Unions Law No. 274 | Article 22 of Law No. 5953 (trade unions) was repealed; journalists moved to the general trade union regime. |
| 17/7/1964 | Social Insurance Law No. 506 | Article 23 and Provisional Articles 2 and 3 of Law No. 5953 were repealed; journalists were brought within the general social insurance regime. |
| 25/8/1971 | Labour Code No. 1475 | Additional Article 2 of Law No. 5953 was repealed. |
| 15/2/1977 | Press Advertising Agency General Assembly Decision No. 67 | The core decision, adopted under Articles 34 and 36 of Law No. 195, governing the qualifying conditions for periodicals eligible to carry official advertisements, the minimum complement of intellectual workers, and the requirement that a newspaper be printed in its place of publication. |
Effect today: the calculation of seniority on the basis of total service in the profession, the three-month notice period for five years' seniority or more, four weeks' annual leave at a daily periodical and the rule that overtime carries a 50 per cent premium all come from Law No. 212. For worked examples, see our article on calculating severance and notice pay. General Assembly Decision No. 67 remains the basic reference for the conditions of eligibility for official advertisements.
1980-2003: the Constitution, private broadcasting and the suspension laws
This long period has three axes: the redrawing of the constitutional framework of press freedom by the 1982 Constitution, the abolition of the radio and television monopoly by constitutional amendment in 1993, and the suspension laws enacted one after another for press offences at the end of the 1990s.
| Date | Instrument | What it introduced |
|---|---|---|
| Adopted 18/10/1982, referendum 7/11/1982 (Official Gazette 9/11/1982-17863) | Constitution of the Republic of Turkey No. 2709 | Freedom of the press (Art. 28), the right to publish periodicals and non-periodicals (Art. 29), protection of printing facilities (Art. 30), the right to use public means of communication (Art. 31) and the right of correction and reply (Art. 32) were laid down at constitutional level. |
| 1983 | Turkish Radio and Television Law No. 2954 | Regulated the status and broadcasting principles of TRT (the Turkish public broadcaster); became the implementing statute for the autonomy and impartiality principle in Article 133 of the Constitution. |
| 16/8/1985 (Official Gazette 23/8/1985-18851) | Press Advertising Agency General Assembly Principle Decision No. 94 | Interpreted Article 20(2) of Decision No. 67: the condition that an intellectual worker within the minimum complement must not perform work requiring physical labour and must reside in the place where the newspaper is published is assessed having regard to distance and transport facilities. |
| 6/3/1986 | Law No. 3266 | Comprehensive revision of Law No. 1117: the structure of the Board, the regime of measures, penalties and the financial obligation transferred to the Mass Housing Fund (Additional Article 1) were regulated. |
| 11/5/1988 | Law No. 3445 | In Law No. 1117, the rule that stamped works be sold in an opaque envelope or wrapper, and the special regime in Additional Article 2, were regulated; Article 9 was repealed. |
| 20/1/1993 | Constitutional Court decision (E.1992/36, K.1993/4) | Article 20 of Law No. 5953 (days on which daily newspapers may not appear) and Article 28 were annulled. |
| 8/7/1993 | Law No. 3913 | Article 133 of the Constitution was amended; the state monopoly in radio and television broadcasting was abolished and the constitutional door opened to private broadcasting. |
| 13/4/1994 | Law No. 3984 on the Establishment and Broadcasts of Radio and Television Stations | The first statute on private radio and television broadcasting. Repealed in 2011 by Article 48 of Law No. 6112. |
| 16/8/1996 (Official Gazette 22/8/1996-22735) | Press Advertising Agency General Assembly Principle Decision No. 141 | Flexibility was introduced into the requirement that a newspaper be printed within the municipal boundaries of its place of publication, where the printing house moves outside the city for reasons beyond its control, provided it remains within the same province. |
| 14/8/1997 | Law No. 4304 | A suspension regime for offences committed in the capacity of responsible editor up to 12/7/1997. Repealed in 1999 by Article 3 of Law No. 4454. |
| 28/8/1999 (Official Gazette 3/9/1999-23805) | Law No. 4454 | Suspension of proceedings and sentences for offences committed through the press and broadcasting up to 23 April 1999. If there is no new conviction within the three-year probation period, the conviction is deemed never to have occurred. |
| 19/9/2000 | Constitutional Court decision (E.1999/39, K.2000/23) | Part of Article 1 of Law No. 4454 was annulled. |
| 21/12/2000 | Law No. 4616 | Article 1 of Law No. 4454 was recast; the twelve-year sentence ceiling criterion was clarified by this amendment. |
| 3/10/2001 | Law No. 4709 | Constitutional amendments directly relevant to the press: Article 13 on the regime of limitations (the principle of proportionality), Article 22 on the twenty-four and forty-eight hour procedure in freedom of communication, Article 26 on grounds of limitation, the removal of the foreign-language prohibition paragraph in Article 28, and Article 31. |
| 2002 | Law No. 4773 | A final paragraph referring to the job security provisions of the Labour Code was added to Article 6 of Law No. 5953. |
| 2003 | Law No. 4809 | Two paragraphs were added to Article 2 of Law No. 4454: convictions of those whose sentences have been executed are deemed never to have occurred, and disqualifications lapse automatically. |
| 24/4/2003 | Law No. 4854 | Article 27 of Law No. 5953 (administrative fine relating to wages and to payments during military service, pregnancy, imprisonment and suspension of publication) was amended. |
| 22/5/2003 | Labour Code No. 4857 | The final paragraph of Article 6 of Law No. 5953 was amended; Articles 18, 19, 20, 21 and 29 of the Labour Code became applicable to journalists by analogy. |
Effect today: a journalist's ability to bring a reinstatement claim today rests on these two amendments of 2002 and 2003. Without the 1993 constitutional amendment, today's licensing regime for private radio and television could never have been built. Law No. 4454, by contrast, has exhausted its practical field of application because of the 23 April 1999 cut-off date and has become a historical text.
2004-2018: the era of Laws No. 5187 and 6112
The two statutes that are today the foundation of the print press and of radio and television were enacted in this period. The second half of the period is the years in which Law No. 6112 was heavily amended by decree-laws.
| Date | Instrument | What it introduced |
|---|---|---|
| 7/5/2004 | Law No. 5170 | Article 30 of the Constitution was amended; the scope of the protection against the seizure and confiscation of printing houses, their annexes and press equipment on the ground that they are instruments of crime was broadened. |
| 9/6/2004 (Official Gazette 26/6/2004-25504) | Press Law No. 5187 | Press Law No. 5680 of 15/7/1950 was repealed. Definitions (Art. 2), the imprint (Art. 4), the responsible editor (Art. 5), the declaration (Arts. 7-8), the obligation to deposit copies (Art. 10), graduated criminal liability (Art. 11), protection of journalistic sources (Art. 12), the right of correction and reply (Art. 14), seizure (Art. 25) and the short limitation period (Art. 26) took their present form. |
| 25/5/2005 (Official Gazette 7/6/2005-25838) | Press Advertising Agency General Assembly Principle Decision No. 171 | It was ruled that persons holding the status of partner in a general partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, shipping partnership or joint stock company may not be counted in a newspaper's minimum complement of intellectual workers. |
| 21/6/2005 | Law No. 5370 | A paragraph was added to Article 133 of the Constitution; the composition of the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) as nine members elected by the plenary of the Grand National Assembly was raised to constitutional level. |
| 11/8/2006 (Official Gazette 17/8/2006-26262), applicable from 1/1/2007 | Press Advertising Agency General Assembly Principle Decision No. 176 | It was decided that publications reproduced on desktop digital printing machines are not to be regarded as periodicals for official advertisement purposes. |
| 23/1/2008 | Law No. 5728 | The penal provisions of Law No. 5953 (Arts. 26, 27, 29, 30 and Additional Art. 3) were updated; double payment of wages where annual leave is not granted, and an administrative fine of five times the overtime pay, took their present form with this amendment. |
| 31/1/2008 | Constitutional Court decision (E.2004/81, K.2008/48) | The second sentence of Article 9 of Law No. 5187 was annulled. |
| 17/4/2008 | Law No. 5754 | Article 14 of Law No. 5953 was amended; the statutory basis for the obligation to pay wages, premiums and bonuses into a bank account was established. |
| 7/5/2010 | Law No. 5982 | A paragraph was added to Article 41 of the Constitution; the state's duty to take protective measures against all forms of abuse and violence towards children became a constitutional obligation. |
| 15/2/2011 (Official Gazette 3/3/2011-27863) | Law No. 6112 on the Establishment of Radio and Television Enterprises and Their Media Services | Law No. 3984 was repealed. Definitions such as media service provider, media service and editorial responsibility (Art. 3), broadcasting principles (Art. 8), rules on commercial communication (Arts. 9-13), correction and reply (Art. 18), the licensing regime (Arts. 19, 27) and the graduation of administrative sanctions (Art. 32) were introduced. |
| 2/7/2012 | Law No. 6352 | Article 19 of Law No. 5187 (influencing the judiciary) was repealed; the limitation periods in Article 26 were extended from two months to four and from four months to six; Provisional Article 3 provided that seizure and prohibition orders issued up to 31/12/2011 lapse automatically if not renewed within six months. |
| 4/7/2012 | Law No. 6353 | The declaration procedure for commercial communication revenue was regulated in Article 42 of Law No. 6112. |
| 25/4/2013 | Law No. 6462 | In Law No. 6112, the terms 'disabled' and 'disability' were replaced with updated wording (Arts. 8(1)(e), 8(1)(ğ), 9(6)(b), 32(4)). |
| 10/9/2014 | Law No. 6552 | Payment of the broadcasting licence fee in ten equal instalments was regulated in Article 42 of Law No. 6112. |
| 20/8/2016 | Law No. 6745 | In Article 19 of Law No. 6112 the reference to foundations was removed and it was added that the founders of a foundation are deemed to be shareholders of the media service provider; in Article 41 the Supreme Council's share was reduced from three per cent to one and a half per cent. |
| 2/1/2017 (adopted without amendment 1/2/2018 - Law No. 7072) | Decree-Law No. 680 | Article 7(4) was added to Law No. 6112 (graduated sanctions for breach of a broadcasting ban, ranging from one day to licence revocation); subparagraph 8(1)(t) was added; the serious-group subparagraphs in Articles 32(1) and 32(5) were broadened. |
| 21/1/2017 (referendum 16/4/2017) | Law No. 6771 | The constitutional amendment introducing the presidential system of government. |
| 17/4/2017 (adopted without amendment 1/2/2018 - Law No. 7077) | Decree-Law No. 690 | In Article 8(2) of Law No. 6112 the phrase 'without the use of a protective symbol' was changed to 'even if a protective symbol is used'; Article 8(4) was added (prohibitions on dating programmes, sales with health claims and premium-rate lines); Article 6(5) on notification of the imprint and the viewer representative; in Article 32 the power to issue a warning and a tier for more than twenty breaches were added. |
| 21/3/2018 | Law No. 7103 | Article 29/A was added to Law No. 6112; the requirement of a licence and broadcast transmission authorisation for broadcasting over the internet, and the access-blocking procedure, were regulated. |
Effect today: in the print press, the declaration procedure, graduated liability and the two-, three- and fifteen-day timetable for reply and correction have not changed since 2004. In broadcasting, the 2017 amendment is critical: placing a protective symbol on content no longer legitimises broadcasting harmful material at a time when children may be watching.
2018-2022: the presidential system and the Directorate of Communications
The administrative structure changed in 2018. The Directorate General of Press, Publication and Information was abolished and the Directorate of Communications (İletişim Başkanlığı) established in its place; powers vested in the Council of Ministers under various laws passed to the President. The second half of the period is the years in which three separate provisions of Law No. 5953 were annulled by the Constitutional Court.
| Date | Instrument | What it introduced |
|---|---|---|
| 2/7/2018 | Decree-Law No. 703 | The package aligning legislation with the constitutional amendments. In Article 39 of Law No. 195 the power to fix the official advertisement price tariff passed from the Council of Ministers to the President. In Law No. 1117 the authority to which the Board reports changed and the termination of existing memberships was regulated (in force 9/7/2018). In Articles 7, 14 and 34 of Law No. 6112 references to the Prime Minister were changed to the President. |
| 2/7/2018 (Art. 122 of Decree-Law No. 703) | Repeal of Decree-Law No. 231 | Decree-Law No. 231 of 8/6/1984 is the decree that established the Directorate General of Press, Publication and Information. It was repealed by Article 122 of Decree-Law No. 703 and the Directorate General was closed; Provisional Article 2 of Decree-Law No. 703 also uses the phrase 'the closed Directorate General of Press, Publication and Information'. Its functions were transferred to the Directorate of Communications, established by Presidential Decree No. 14. |
| 24/7/2018 | Presidential Decree No. 14 | The organisation of the Directorate of Communications was established. Press card matters and applications by press members for service-stamped passports were consolidated in this body; the term 'the Directorate' (Başkanlık) in Law No. 5187 refers to this body. |
| 30/8/2018 | Presidential Decision No. 2018/154 | It was decided that the power to audit the Press Advertising Agency under Article 14 of Law No. 195 would be exercised by the Directorate of Communications. |
| 13/12/2018 (Official Gazette 14/12/2018-30625) | Presidential Decision No. 465 | The Press Card Regulation was brought into force. Repealed in 2023. |
| 19/9/2019 (in force 19/11/2019) | Constitutional Court decision (E.2019/48, K.2019/74) | The second sentence of Additional Article 1 of Law No. 5953, concerning the time of payment of overtime pay, was annulled. |
| 25/12/2019 (in force 14/2/2020) | Constitutional Court decision (E.2019/108, K.2019/101) | The second paragraph of Article 14 of Law No. 5953 was annulled; the provision applying a daily increase of five per cent where wages are paid late ceased to exist. |
| 19/2/2020 | Constitutional Court decision (E.2018/91, K.2020/10) | The third paragraph of Article 19 of Law No. 6112 was annulled. |
| 13/10/2022 (in force 18/10/2022) | Law No. 7418 | Internet news sites were brought within the scope of Law No. 5187 and the press card regime was placed on a statutory footing. Details in the next section. |
Effect today: the authority to which a press card application is addressed, the authority that approves the official advertisement tariff and the body that audits the Press Advertising Agency all took their present form in this period. Press card applications are now made to the Directorate of Communications. The annulments of 2019 and 2020 caused a return to the general rules on the interest applicable to a journalist's unpaid wages and on the timing of overtime payments.
2022 to the present: Law No. 7418, the press card regime and new annulments
The axis of the most recent period is Law No. 7418. That law amended sixteen articles of Law No. 5187, added the press card regime in Additional Articles 1-8, and also affected Article 1 of Law No. 5953 and Articles 5, 37, 49 and 45/A of Law No. 195. The three Constitutional Court decisions that followed created a new picture in the fields of severance pay and official advertisement sanctions.
| Date | Instrument | What it introduced |
|---|---|---|
| 13/10/2022 (in force 18/10/2022) | Law No. 7418 — effect on Law No. 5187 | Internet news sites were added to the definition of periodical (Art. 2(c)); definitions of internet news site, press card, media member and information officer were introduced. The imprint of an internet news site (Art. 4), the electronic notification address in the declaration (Art. 7), the procedure for establishing qualifying conditions (Art. 8), retention of content for two years (Art. 10), correction with a URL link within one day (Art. 14) and the four-month limitation period (Art. 26) were regulated. Additional Articles 1-8 placed five types of press card and a nineteen-member Press Card Commission on a statutory footing; the authority for applications is the Directorate of Communications. Provisional Article 4 gave existing internet news sites a three-month compliance period. |
| 13/10/2022 | Law No. 7418 — effect on Laws No. 5953 and 195 | Internet news sites were added to Article 1 of Law No. 5953; the intellectual workers of those sites came within the scope of Law No. 5953. In Law No. 195, the General Assembly was enlarged to forty-two members and a quota was given to the owners of internet news sites carrying official advertisements (Art. 5); internet news sites were added to the monthly list (Art. 37); Article 45/A provided that official advertisements and announcements on internet news sites may be published only through the Press Advertising Agency; Provisional Article 9 provided for the qualifying conditions and procedural principles to be set out by regulation within six months. |
| 9/4/2023 (Official Gazette 10/4/2023-32159) | Presidential Decision No. 7051 | The Press Card Regulation currently in force was published; the previous regulation, brought into force by Decision No. 465, was repealed. The quota tables, types of card, commission procedure and the regime of cancellation and return are set out in this text; the Regulation is executed by the Head of the Directorate of Communications. |
| 4/5/2023 (in force 14/6/2023) | Constitutional Court decision (E.2021/62, K.2023/89) | The first paragraph of Article 6 of Law No. 5953 and a sentence in the paragraph governing the amount of severance pay were annulled. The five-year service requirement for severance pay ceased to exist. Because the text of the annulled sentence does not appear in the consolidated text of the law in force, the full text of the decision as published in the Official Gazette should be consulted for the scope of the annulment. |
| 7/12/2023 | Constitutional Court decision (E.2018/117, K.2023/212) | The fifth and sixth paragraphs of Article 14 of Law No. 6112 were annulled. |
| 27/12/2023 | Law No. 7491 | Definitions of conditional access and net sales were added to Law No. 6112 (Arts. 3(kk), 3(ll)); a Supreme Council share of one and a half per cent of annual net sales was introduced for media service providers offering conditional access and for internet platform operators (Art. 41(1)(d)), and the payment timetable was regulated (Art. 42(2)). |
| 5/6/2024 (Official Gazette 6/6/2024-32568) | Presidential Decision No. 8624 | Articles 14, 16, 23, 24, 25 and 26 of the Press Card Regulation were amended: in calculating the period for a permanent card, at most twenty-four months of periods spent on a freelance card are counted; agency copies are to be transmitted to the Directorate electronically; no card is issued to those at Anadolu Agency and TRT who do not work in the news field; and 'photographer' was added to the list of radio and television job titles. |
| 21/12/2024 | Presidential Decision No. 9285 | The Official Advertisement Price Tariff for 2025. Repealed by the 2026 tariff. |
| 17/6/2025 (in force 13/10/2025) | Constitutional Court decision (E.2023/168, K.2025/132) | Subparagraph (a) of Article 49 of Law No. 195 was annulled; the sanction of suspending advertisements applied to newspapers, magazines and internet news sites ceased to have effect. The annulment footnote in the text of the law also carries the note 'the phrase (a) as regards the third sentence'; the full text of the decision as published in the Official Gazette should be consulted for the scope of this aspect. |
| 24/12/2025 (Official Gazette 25/12/2025-33118), in force 1/1/2026 | Presidential Decision No. 10768 | The Official Advertisement Price Tariff for 2026. The unit is the column-centimetre for newspapers and, for internet news sites, a box measuring one centimetre in height by three point four centimetres in width; the typesetting parameters (Arial, ten-point body text, sixteen-point heading) are listed in the tariff. |
| 23/1/2026 | Law No. 7573 | The second paragraph of Article 33 of Law No. 6112 was amended; alongside those broadcasting outside their licence type, organisations continuing to broadcast under Provisional Article 4 that install unauthorised transmitters were also brought within the scope of a warning followed by criminal sanctions. |
Effect today: an internet news site must now file a declaration, make its imprint accessible from the home page, retain its content for two years and publish a correction text within one day. For the full set of compliance steps see the legal compliance checklist, and for the movement of the tariff over the years see the official advertisement rate archive.
Constitutional Court annulments
When reading the current text of Turkish press legislation, the greatest traps lie in provisions that have ceased to have effect. The nine decisions below are the annulments recorded in the footnotes of the statutory texts that continue to have effect.
| Date of decision | Case / decision no. | Provision annulled | In force from | Practical result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20/1/1993 | E.1992/36, K.1993/4 | Articles 20 and 28 of Law No. 5953 | With the decision | The provision on daily newspapers not appearing on certain days and the associated penal provision ceased to exist. |
| 19/9/2000 | E.1999/39, K.2000/23 | Part of Article 1 of Law No. 4454 | With the decision | The scope provision of the suspension law was recast by Law No. 4616 of 21/12/2000. |
| 31/1/2008 | E.2004/81, K.2008/48 | The second sentence of Article 9 of Law No. 5187 | With the decision | The relevant sentence of the provision on the loss of the owner's rights in a periodical became inapplicable. |
| 19/9/2019 | E.2019/48, K.2019/74 | The second sentence of Additional Article 1 of Law No. 5953, on the time of payment of overtime pay | 19/11/2019 | The special rule on when overtime pay is due ceased to exist; the general wage payment regime applies. |
| 25/12/2019 | E.2019/108, K.2019/101 | The second paragraph of Article 14 of Law No. 5953 | 14/2/2020 | The provision applying a daily increase of five per cent where wages are paid late ceased to exist; the general rules on interest apply. |
| 19/2/2020 | E.2018/91, K.2020/10 | The third paragraph of Article 19 of Law No. 6112 | With the decision | The paragraph on refusal of a licence, added by Decree-Law No. 680, ceased to have effect. |
| 4/5/2023 | E.2021/62, K.2023/89 | The first paragraph of Article 6 of Law No. 5953 and a sentence in the paragraph governing the amount of severance pay | 14/6/2023 | The five-year service requirement for a journalist's entitlement to severance pay ceased to exist. Because the text of the annulled sentence does not appear in the consolidated text of the law in force, consult the full text of the decision as published in the Official Gazette for its scope. |
| 7/12/2023 | E.2018/117, K.2023/212 | The fifth and sixth paragraphs of Article 14 of Law No. 6112 | With the decision | The paragraphs added by Decree-Law No. 703 ceased to have effect. |
| 17/6/2025 | E.2023/168, K.2025/132 | Subparagraph (a) of Article 49 of Law No. 195; the footnote also carries the note 'the phrase (a) as regards the third sentence' | 13/10/2025 | The sanction of suspending advertisements applied to newspapers, magazines and internet news sites ceased to exist. The sanctions that survive are the closure of the producer arrangement for up to two months and disciplinary proceedings against public officials. Consult the full text of the decision for the scope of the note 'as regards the third sentence'. |
What each change means today
A summary not as historical information but as consequences that show up in daily workflow. For this year's changes, see our article on what changed in press law this year.
| Change | Year | What it means today |
|---|---|---|
| Restructuring of Law No. 5953 by Law No. 212 | 1961 | A journalist's seniority is calculated on total service in the profession; the notice period is three months at five years' seniority or more; annual leave is four weeks, and six weeks at over ten years' seniority. |
| Establishment of the Press Advertising Agency by Law No. 195 | 1961 | The advertisements and announcements of public bodies may be published only through the Press Advertising Agency in places where the Agency has a branch. |
| General Assembly Decision No. 67 | 1977 | The source of the required page size, the minimum complement of intellectual workers and the requirement to print in the place of publication in order to receive official advertisements. |
| Amendment of Article 133 of the Constitution | 1993 | Private radio and television broadcasting is constitutionally possible; the RTÜK licensing regime rests on this foundation. |
| Press Law No. 5187 | 2004 | A periodical is subject to a declaration, not to a permit; liability rests first with the author; compelling disclosure of a journalistic source is prohibited. |
| Amendment of Article 14 of Law No. 5953 by Law No. 5754 | 2008 | A journalist's wages, premiums and bonuses may not be paid otherwise than into a bank account. |
| Extension of limitation periods by Law No. 6352 | 2012 | A four-month limitation period applies for daily publications and six months for other printed works; this is a condition of the proceedings. |
| Amendment of Article 8(2) of Law No. 6112 by Decree-Law No. 690 | 2017 | Harmful content may not be broadcast during hours when children may be watching, even if a protective symbol is used. |
| Presidential Decree No. 14 | 2018 | Press card applications are made to the Directorate of Communications; the card is issued and cancelled by that body. |
| Law No. 7418 | 2022 | Internet news sites are periodicals: the declaration, the imprint, two-year retention of content, correction within one day and eligibility for a press card all follow from that status. |
| Constitutional Court annulment on Article 6 of Law No. 5953 | 2023 | No five-year service requirement applies for severance pay; entitlement arises for each year of service or part thereof beyond the first year of the contract. |
| Amendment of the Press Card Regulation | 2024 | In calculating the eighteen-year period for a permanent press card, at most twenty-four months of periods spent on a freelance card are counted; no card is issued to those at TRT and Anadolu Agency who do not work in the news field. |
| Constitutional Court annulment of Article 49(a) of Law No. 195 | 2025 | The advertisement suspension sanction cannot be applied; the route of a warning or cancellation in respect of the press card in the event of a breach of press ethics principles is separately reserved. |
| 2026 Official Advertisement Price Tariff | 2026 | The basis is the column-centimetre for newspapers and the box area for internet news sites; measurement for internet news sites is carried out through İLANBİS, and the tariff fees are exclusive of VAT. |
The chain of repealed laws
When reading an old file or an old line of case law, you need to know which law replaced which. The chain is short and clear.
text
PRINT PRESS
Press Law No. 5680 (15/7/1950)
-> repealed by Art. 30 of Press Law No. 5187 (2004)
-> Law No. 5187 broadened by Law No. 7418 (2022)
RADIO AND TELEVISION
State monopoly (original Art. 133 of the Constitution)
-> monopoly abolished by Law No. 3913 (8/7/1993)
-> Law No. 3984 (13/4/1994)
-> repealed by Art. 48 of Law No. 6112 (2011)
SUSPENSION IN PRESS OFFENCES
Law No. 4304 (14/8/1997)
-> repealed by Art. 3 of Law No. 4454 (28/8/1999)
-> Art. 1 of Law No. 4454 recast by Law No. 4616 (21/12/2000)
-> Art. 2 of Law No. 4454 broadened by Law No. 4809 (2003)
PRESS CARD
Press Card Regulation, Presidential Decision No. 465 (13/12/2018)
-> new Regulation by Presidential Decision No. 7051; the old one
repealed by its Art. 49 (9/4/2023)
-> Arts. 14, 16, 23, 24, 25, 26 amended by Presidential Decision
No. 8624 (5/6/2024)
ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE
Directorate General of Press, Publication and Information
-> established by Decree-Law No. 231 (8/6/1984)
-> Decree-Law No. 231 repealed by Art. 122 of Decree-Law No. 703,
the Directorate General closed (2018)
-> functions transferred to the Directorate of Communications by
Presidential Decree No. 14 (24/7/2018)
OFFICIAL ADVERTISEMENT TARIFF
Presidential Decision No. 9285 - 2025 tariff (21/12/2024)
-> Presidential Decision No. 10768 - 2026 tariff
(24/12/2025, in force 1/1/2026)