NEWSLETTER-2020-metin

267 CIVIL PROCEDURE LAW barred bond turns into preliminary evidence, the 13th, 15th and 19th Civil Chambers of the Court of Cassation defend that the maturity date on the bond loses the status of definite maturity and its binding effect among the parties, since the bond loses the qualification of the bill in terms of the law of evidence, and that if the fundamental relationship of the bond is proven through witness and other evidence, the debtor still needs to be defaulted by notice according to Article 117 of the TCO. Justification The Assembly underlines that the bills of exchange have the nature of abstract acknowledgement of debt and are independent from the underlying relationship, and points out that a second debtor- creditor relationship has arisen when one of the parties issues a bill of exchange and gives it to the beneficiary. In other words, the underlying relationship is subject to its own law, the bill of exchange is subject to its own law. Therefore, the maturity date on the bond is not the matu- rity of the fundamental debt relationship, but the maturity date of the debt relationship arising from the law of bill of exchange. However, when the debt arising from the bond, which has the qualification of a bill of exchange becomes due, the debt arising from the fundamental relationship also becomes due. In this case, the Assembly draws atten- tion to the fact that the creditor may exercise his/her right to demand performance, arising from the fundamental debt relationship from the date of maturity, as well as his/her right to demand performance aris- ing from the bond. The justification also states that the right to demand performance based on the bond does not expire automatically when the limitation period regarding the bond has passed, even if the debtor has introduced the plea of limitation. Since the time-barred bond loses its status, it will not be possible to take advantage of the special opportunities recog- nized by the bills of exchange, and the time-barred bond will not even be accepted as an ordinary bill. At this point, the time-barred bond is accepted as the (written) preliminary evidence within the scope of the law of proof. Therefore, the holder, who cannot rely on the bond that has lost the status of the bills of exchange, may only benefit from the bond as the preliminary evidence in a lawsuit to be filed based on the fundamental relationship, and will need to prove his/her claim through