- No power of attorney, no application: the court will not accept one without it.
- Two forms: notary abroad plus apostille, or a Turkish consulate; either way a sworn Turkish translation, notarised.
- For a ship arrest the document must expressly cover interim attachment, security, settlement and receipt of payment.
- We prepare the application in parallel and file the moment the original arrives.
A Turkish lawyer acts in court and before the enforcement office under a power of attorney, and the court will not accept an application without one. For a foreign company or individual the document is issued abroad, legalised and translated; done in the right form it takes a few days, done in the wrong form it costs the vessel. This guide sets out what the courts accept and how we get it done in time.
Two forms
| Form | How | Then |
|---|---|---|
| Before a notary abroad, with an apostille | Signed before a notary in the country of the grantor; the notary's signature is certified by an apostille under the Hague Convention of 1961, to which Türkiye is a party (HCCH status table, checked 17 September 2026). In a country that is not a party, the document is legalised through the Turkish consulate | Translated into Turkish by a sworn translator in Türkiye and the translation notarised before it is filed |
| Before a Turkish consulate | The grantor signs at a Turkish consulate abroad, which issues it in Turkish form; no apostille is then needed |
Signed before a notary abroad, or at a Turkish consulate- Apostille — or the consular form needs none
Sworn Turkish translation, notarised
Filed with the application the moment the original arrives
For a ship arrest the document must expressly cover interim attachment, security, settlement and receipt of payment.
What it must contain
- The grantor's identity — for a company, the company's details and the signatory's authority, shown by a certificate of incorporation, a register extract or board resolution, themselves apostilled.
- The lawyers appointed, by name and bar registration.
- The powers granted. For a ship arrest the document must expressly authorise the lawyer to apply for interim attachment and its execution, to give and receive security, to settle and to receive payment; a general litigation power without those words leads to questions at the courthouse when there is no time for them.
We send a template in Turkish with an English translation, with the wording the court needs.
Time
The power of attorney is the one document that only the client can produce.Where a vessel is in port, we prepare the application in parallel and file the moment the document arrives
A scanned copy lets the court see what is coming, but the original — or the consular document — is what is filed. Where the claimant is an individual, a passport copy accompanies the document; where a P&I club or a manning agent acts for the claimant under an assignment, the assignment is apostilled and translated in the same way, and the lien passes with the claim (TCC art. 1325).
Updates to this guide
17 September 2026
First published; Apostille Convention status checked on the HCCH status table.
Questions readers ask
Can we sign the power of attorney electronically?
Turkish courts require a notarised document — before a notary abroad with an apostille, or before a Turkish consulate — followed by a sworn translation. An electronically signed foreign document is not accepted in place of it.
Does the power of attorney have to be in Turkish?
It may be issued in the grantor's language and translated in Türkiye by a sworn translator, with the translation notarised; a consular power of attorney is issued in Turkish. We send the template in both languages so the two versions match.