Land use in a residential area is designated through development plans by Municipalities and various public enterprises and ministries in some cases. Development plans are divided into two categories which are namely “master development plans” and “implementary development plans”.

The master development plan is drawn on existing approved maps and shows dwellings, commercial and industrial zones, general use forms of pieces of lands such as green areas, main region types, future populations of regions, population densities and structure densities if required, principles of various residential areas in terms of development directions and dimensions, transportation systems etc. and is intended for constituting a basis for the preparation of implementary development plans.

On the other hand, implementary development plan is drawn on existing approved maps with the indication of its cadastral status, if any, and prepared according to the master development plan and shows city blocks of various regions, their densities and arrangements, roads, implementation phases and principles that will constitute a basis for the development implementation programs required for implementation and other information and details and is an integral part of the report prepared with the scale of 1/1000.

Development plans are prepared in order to make the physical environment which closely affects the social life suitable for human life and regional priorities; direct the location selections and improvement tendencies of structures and recreation/amusement areas intended for various purposes and identify the protection and usage balance of the earth in the most optimal manner. Unplanned and rapid urbanization prevents healthy urbanization in accordance with the increasing population. The formation of parks, children gardens, playgrounds, daily utilization areas, picnic and recreation areas which are necessary for the creation and maintenance of a modern city and required to be protected from the effect of excessive structuring and will serve to the whole city can be ensured in this way in order to form a healthy environment that is able to enhance the aesthetic aspects of the city and urbanization quality.

Sometimes, these plans can be arranged to the disadvantage of city planning principles and legal interests of immovable properties. In this case, it is possible to bring an action for the annulment of development plans.

Development plans are regulatory administrative procedures and the duration of action which requires announcement commences as from the date following the announcement date. Development plans may be subjected to action either within 60 days starting from the day following the completion of 30 days period intended for the announcement or within the legal period thereof upon their acknowledgment under the decision of the municipal assembly or governorate as per the procedure set forth in Article 8 of the Zoning Law.

On the other side, respondents may be able to subject either a general regulatory proceeding or an implementation proceeding or both to an action for annulment within the general term of litigation upon the notification of implementation proceedings established based on regulatory proceedings even is said period is exceeded.

According to Article 24 of the 2575 numbered Council of State Law, the competent court of the first instance for the hearing and finalization of actions brought for the annulment of an environmental plan with the scale of 1/25.000 approved by the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning is the Council of State and the actions intended for the annulment of development plans prepared by ministries are brought in the Council of State. An action must be brought in the Council of State as the court of the first instance for the annulment of development plans to be prepared by exercising the power granted to the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning in Article 9 of the Zoning Law.

Our team consisting of legal experts provides consultancy and advocacy services for the actions for annulment of development plans and achievement-oriented service principle is adopted for preventing losses of rights.

Expropriation is that for the benefit of the public interest, the confiscation of the immovable properties needed by the public administration by paying the value appraised in advance to fulfill the tasks assigned to them. The action for annulment of the acts of unlawful expropriation can be initiated. An action may be brought for the annulment of unlawful expropriation acts and our law office provides litigation and consultancy services against possible sufferings.

In the event that the administration confiscates the immovable property of the citizen without expropriation; the lawsuit based on confiscation without expropriation can be initiated by the injured person/persons.

The practices known as confiscation without expropriation in our law may involve withering actual disposition of the administration on an immovable property without any legal basis or inability of exercising the property right under an administrative decision.

According to Expropriation Law numbered 2942, in the absence of an agreement between the owner of the immovable property and the administration regarding the price of expropriation, the price of expropriated place is determined by the court with the lawsuit for the determination of the price and the registration initiated by the administration.

The Settlement is a document of which the other name is an occupancy permit. With this document, it is approved that after the completion of all technical processes related to the building, the building whose construction has been completed according to the permits and its annexes and there is no objection for the use of building in terms of science and health. Sometimes, however, an occupancy permit may not be given on some grounds by the municipalities. If such grounds are illegal, the objection can be made and if the objection is refused, the action for annulment of the refusal decision can be initiated.

The pecuniary penalties can be given by the municipalities by obtaining the decision of council on the grounds that unlicensed construction is being done. It is possible to initiate litigation for the annulment of the decision of the mentioned pecuniary penalty and the payment order sent with the decision of counsel.

It is possible that the decision for demolition can be given by the municipalities on the ground that the building was built contrary to urban development regulation. It is possible to initiate an action for annulment of the decision for demolition at the authorized court due to unlawful decision for demolition.

The subject of the law of the conservation of the cultural and natural property is to provide the protection for all the historic and natural assets occurring in the form of natural formations which are considered to be the common value of humanity whether or not belonging to the natural culture.

Article 63 of the 1982 Constitution regulates that the State has the duty of conservation of the  cultural and natural property and in order to fulfill this duty the central and local administration authorities have different levels of responsibilities. The principles and rules of which the declaration of intent put forward in the process of fulfillment of these responsibilities will be subject to and legal ways to appeal against such decisions are in the scope of the Law On The Conservation Of Cultural And Natural Property.

The basic national resources of the legislation on the conservation of cultural and natural property are as follows; the Law on the Conservation of Cultural and Natural Property, the Coastal Law, the Law on Promotion of Cultural Investments and Initiatives, the Bosphorus Law, the Urban Planning Law, the Law of Foundations, the Decree-Law on the Organizations and Duties of the General Directorate of Foundations, the Law on the Organization and Duties of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Law on Promotion of Tourism, the Decree-Law on the Organizations and Duties of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, the Environmental Law, the Decree Law on the Organizations and Duties of the Ministry of Environment and Planning and similar legal regulations.

Natural properties are defined in the law as follows: “the assets under or above the ground or underwater which belong to geological eras or pre-history or historical ages and are required to be protected because of their rareness, characteristics or beauties”. The trees above a certain age and some type species are registered as natural properties whereas the areas with some tree species and plant diversity are registered as natural properties under the category of the natural archaeological site.

According to the Code of Protection of Cultural and Natural Properties numbered 2863, the announcement of an area as an archaeological site by the protection board suspends the implementation of the development plan in that area.  Structure conditions for the shift period are designated within a month by the protection board by the preparation of a development plan intended for protection. Respective governorates and municipalities are obliged to submit the development plan intended for protection for the assessment of the protection board within no later than one year.

Structure conditions for the shift period which are intended for the enforcement of the protection plan that is deemed suitable by the protection board and approved by the municipality or governorate are eliminated without taking a separate decision.

Partial modification of protective development plans in terms of immovable cultural and natural properties which are required to be protected is notified in writing by the protection board to the  relevant municipality as well as concerned organizations and institutions if such modification is deemed necessary by respective institutions and the protection board takes a decision on this regard.

The modification proposal is finalized by the municipality assembly within no later than a month following such notification. If the required decision is not taken within the said period, then the modification proposal is finalized in the agreed considerations without the necessity of a decision by the municipality assembly.

In order for the decision of the municipality assembly for the protective development plans to bear a legal consequence, it must be approved by the Protection Board of Cultural and Natural Properties. Public institutions and organizations, municipalities and real and legal entities are obliged to comply with the decisions of the High Protection Council and regional protection boards.

The public institutions and organizations with a planning power as well as governorates and municipalities may raise an objection against the decisions taken for architectural sites, their degrees, protection principles for the architectural site shift period and utilization conditions, protective master plans and the revisions thereof within sixty days before the High Protection Council. These objections are reviewed by the High Protection Council and finalized within no later than six months.

Our experienced legal experts manage the process with respect to the objections to be raised before the High Protection Council and the actions to be filed in this regard and provide consultancy and litigation services in this area.

Our staff of lawyers who are competent in their fields manage the process of objections to the High Council of Conservation and lawsuits, and provide legal consultancy and litigation services in this field.

Our consultancy and advocacy services regarding this branch of law:

• Annulment Action of Decisions of Conservation Council
• Annulment Action for registration decisions
• Lawsuits regarding the settlement in natural protected areas
• Mining actives in natural protected areas
• Disputes concerning the grading in natural protected areas
• Lawsuits regarding the settlement in archaeological sites
• Appeals of administrative decisions taken by Regional Conservation Council
• Annulment Action of the policy decisions of Superior Conservation Council
• Annulment Action of the decisions of Superior Conservation Council and  Regional Conservation Council
• Administrative appeal and annulment action of conservation plan
• Administrative lawsuits related to Development Plans
• Enjoyment of exemptions and exceptions by owners of immovable in relation to the protected areas (natural, archaeological, urban historical and other mixed protected areas)
• All kinds of implementations and administrative applications for obtaining permissions regarding immovable under protection
• Protection against criminal penalties applied for unauthorized interference and inconsistent use of cultural and natural property to be protected, conservation sites and protected areas
• Legal consultancy on obtaining the necessary permits and legal applications against administrative and criminal penalties for unlicensed construction in the parcels containing registered cultural and natural properties and conservation areas of these properties and for the constructions contrary to the provisions of zoning plan in the protected areas
• The management of the application process of aid to be made by the Ministry and Local Administrations to the owners of immovable cultural and natural property
• Lawsuits arising from the expropriation of conservation sites and the cultural and natural property to be protected under the possession of foundation or partially real or legal person.