NEWSLETTER-2020-metin

66 NEWSLETTER 2020 ized within the period determined by law due to an insurmountable obstacle, such as a state legislation, or any force majeure, said periods extend. ” The purpose of the provision is to prevent the bearer from any loss of right and opportunity to obtain his/her receivables by extending the periods during the force majeure due to the fact that the bearer could not perform the actions and procedures that are legal burdens, such as the presentation. As is accepted by the doctrine, this provision does not bear any consequences for the drawer. The “state legislation” or “force majeure” as listed in the Article is representative of “insurmountable obstacle,” and does not qualify as numerus clausus . 4 However, the impossible obstacle to overcome must be objective. This is understood both from the general definition made by the doctrine of the force majeure expression stipulated in the Article, and the provision of the 811/5 of the TCC, which states that “The facts solely about the bearer, or the person assigned by the bearer to present the check, to protest, or to make an equivalent determina- tion, are not considered to be force majeure.” 5 It is necessary to evaluate whether the Covid-19 outbreak is an obstacle that is impossible to overcome objectively in terms of the bearer. It can be said that even though the banks have restricted their working hours, or have closed certain branches, since they continue their activities, there is no situation arising from banks preventing pre- sentation, which constitutes an insurmountable obstacle for the bearer. However, according to Circular No. 6235, issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs on 21.03.2020, since citizens aged 65 and over, with low immune systems, chronic lung disease, asthma, COPD, cardiovascular disease, kidney, hypertension and liver disease, and those using drugs that disrupt the immune system, and those under 20 years of age, are under lockdown, with respect to bearers described, above, and there may be an objectively insurmountable obstacle in the context of the “state legislation,” as specified in Article 811/1 of the TCC . In our opinion, the Covid-19 outbreak can also be described as a force majeure for bearers who are not subject to the above-mentioned 4 Öztan, Fırat : Kıymetli Evrak Hukuku, 2nd ed., Ankara 1997. Poroy, Reha / Tekinalp, Ünal : Kıymetli Evrak Hukuku Esasları, 22nd ed., Istanbul 2018. 5 Dural , ibid.