In our country, to ensure that prices are determined in the market according to supply and demand by removing price controls, to close the deficit of external resources, to adopt the export-based industrialization model instead of import substitution; Thus, a comprehensive economic stabilization program was put into practice on 24 January 1980 in order to make the economy functional. With the January 24 decisions, which created a radical change in the economic structure of our country, the role and intervention of the state in the economy was minimized and the free market economy model was put into operation under the leadership of the private sector.
According to Article 167 of the 1982 Constitution, the state is required to "take measures to ensure and promote the healthy and orderly functioning of the markets for money, credit, capital, goods and services; to prevent monopolization and cartelization that may arise as a result of acts or agreements in the markets". Again, Article 48 of the Constitution regulates "freedom of work and contract"; after it is stated in the said article that it is free to establish private enterprises; It has been stipulated that the state will take measures to ensure that private enterprises operate in accordance with the requirements of the national economy and social objectives and operate in security and determination. In addition to these regulations, the relations between the European Union and our country have constituted the most important reasons for making regulations regarding competition law.
It should be noted that competition laws have the character of a kind of "economic constitution" and constitute a means of intervention of the state in establishing and maintaining an environment of free competition in the economy. In these laws, undertakings; they are prohibited from limiting competition by agreements, mergers and acquisitions, or by abusing their dominant power.
In this context, in order to ensure the fulfillment of the obligations arising from both the Constitution and the international treaties to which it is a party in Turkish law, the Law on the Protection of Competition dated 7/12/1994 and numbered 4054 was published in the Official Gazette dated 13/12/1994 and numbered 22140 and entered into force. With the Law No. 4054, the authority and duty to regulate, supervise and impose sanctions in response to violations related to the field of competition has been given to the Turkish Competition Authority and these duties are fulfilled by the Turkish Competition Board, which is the decision-making body of the Competition Authority. As expressed in Article 1 of the Law titled "Purpose", the purpose of the Law is to prevent agreements, decisions and practices that prevent, disrupt or limit competition in the markets of goods and services and to prevent the enterprises that are dominant in the market from abusing their dominance and to ensure the protection of competition by making the necessary arrangements and inspections to ensure this.
The concept of competition is defined in Article 3 of the Law No. 4054. Accordingly, competition refers to the race between enterprises in the goods and services markets that allows economic decisions to be made freely. The first part of the Law No. 4054 contains regulations on "Purpose, Scope and Definitions"; the second part consists of the "Prohibited Activities" section, which is also referred to as the substantive law section. In this context, Article 4 of Law No. 4054 defines the agreements, concerted practices and decisions of the undertaking union restricting competition between undertakings; Article 6 prohibits abuse of a dominant position and Article 7 prohibits mergers or acquisitions between attempts to create a dominant position or to strengthen the existing dominant position. As Erikel & Partners Law Office, we provide legal contributions to our clients in the field of Competition Law.
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