NON-SEIZABLE PROPERTY AND RIGHTS
This is one of the main issues that people wonder about regarding seizure proceedings.
The relevant articles of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law clearly state which properties cannot be seized. Any property with material value other than these can be seized.
A person’s essential kitchen appliances are not seizable. To elaborate, they are essential items for a person’s survival. In other words, kitchen appliances are not among these; they can be seized. In fact, these appliances are often the primary assets in household seizures. Furthermore, all other valuable items such as sofa sets, TVs, stereos, satellite receivers, DVD players, carpets, and vacuum cleaners can be seized.
Furthermore, a person’s home, if appropriate, cannot be seized. However, various circumstances may make such seizure possible, and in practice, seizures are often observed. As for seizable assets, any type of valuable property can be seized, except for those goods and rights specified below as non-seizable by the relevant article of law.
The most interesting of these include a person’s watch, precious metal jewelry such as gold, jewelry, a locked safe and its valuable documents (such as checks and promissory notes), crops in a field, a person’s mobile phone, a brand’s naming rights, a house’s solar energy system, livestock, and other animals of material value. Examples of such seizures exist and can be multiplied.
The relevant article of the law states: Previous version of Law No. 2004,
PROPERTY AND RIGHTS NOT PERMISSIBLE TO SEIZURE:
Article 82- (Amended article: 18/02/1965 – 538/46 Art.)
The following cannot be seized:
1. State property and property designated as non-seizable by special laws,
2. Clothing and belongings necessary for the debtor’s person and professional life, as well as bedding and religious books and belongings necessary for the debtor and his family,
3. Indispensable kitchenware and essential household goods,
4. If the debtor is a farmer, land, livestock, transportation vehicles, and other auxiliary and agricultural equipment necessary for the livelihood of himself and his family; If not, the necessary tools, equipment, and books for the art and profession, and the means of transport for small transport workers such as coachmen, boatmen, and porters.
5. If necessary for the maintenance of the debtor and his family, one milk-producing buffalo or cow, or three goats or sheep of the debtor’s choice, and three months’ worth of feed and bedding for these animals.
6. Two months’ worth of food and fuel for the debtor and his family, and if the debtor is a farmer, the seed needed for the next crop.
7. If the debtor is a vineyard, orchard, or fruit or vegetable grower, the necessary vineyard or garden for the livelihood of himself and his family, and the necessary tools and equipment for this trade.
If the debtor’s livelihood is limited to raising animals, the necessary amount for the livelihood of himself and his family, and three months’ worth of feed and bedding for these animals.
8. The registered assets established in accordance with Article 510 of the Code of Obligations, which are not subject to seizure, shall be included in the following: Annuities,
9. Retirement pensions granted to those disabled in the country’s military and police services, as well as pensions granted to their families for the performance of one of these services, and flight and diving compensation and bonuses granted to members of the military’s air force and submarine fleet, promotion increases granted to disabled military personnel and the orphans of martyrs, and monopoly shares granted to the deceased pursuant to Law No. 1485,
10. Annuities granted by an assistance fund or society in cases of illness, necessity, and death,
11. Money paid or to be paid, either in lump sum or as an annuity, to the debtor or their family as compensation for injuries incurred to their bodily or health,
12. The debtor’s appropriate house (However, if the house is overvalued, it shall be seized and sold to leave to the debtor the amount that can be purchased from its value for a suitable place).
Article 807 of the Civil Code is reserved. The exceptions in clauses 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 12 are exclusive to the case where the debt does not arise from the price of this item.
Official Gazette, Thursday, JULY 5, 2012, Issue: 28344
The final version of the law introduced with the amendment dated July 2, 2012, numbered 6352.
Subparagraphs (2), (3), and (12) of the first paragraph of Article 82 of Law No. 2004 have been amended as follows, and subparagraph (13) has been added to the paragraph, and the following subparagraphs have been added to the article:
“2. All items necessary for the debtor, whose economic activity is based on physical labor rather than capital, to pursue his/her profession.
3. Items necessary for the debtor and family members living under the same roof, excluding valuables such as money, negotiable instruments, gold, silver, precious stones, antiques, or ornaments; if there is more than one item used for the same purpose, one of these items.”
“12. A house suitable for the debtor’s situation.”
“13. Student scholarships.”
“If the value of the goods listed in subparagraphs (2), (4), (7), and (12) of the first paragraph is excessive, a portion of the value appropriate to the debtor’s condition shall be seized and sold to be transferred to the debtor to meet his needs. The enforcement officer shall assess whether the seizure of the requested goods or rights is permissible and decide to accept or reject the request.”