The Communiqué Amending the Communiqué (Communiqué No: 2010/3) on the Regulation of the Right of Access to the File and Protection of Trade Secrets (Communiqué No: 2025/3) (“New Communiqué”), which is regulated by the Turkish Competition Authority, was published in the Official Gazette dated 4.10.2025 and numbered 33037.
Under the New Communiqué, the scope of the right to access the file has been explicitly extended to cover not only investigation proceedings but also final examinations conducted in merger and acquisition notifications. Accordingly, the expressions in the Previous Communiqué that could be interpreted as limiting the right to access solely to the investigation phase have been revised, and the term “final examination” has been incorporated into the relevant provisions to ensure clarity of scope. As a result, the New Communiqué aims to enhance clarity, transparency, and predictability in the application process by refining the meanings and scope of several terms previously contained in the Previous Communiqué. The period within which a request for access to the file may be submitted has also been explicitly defined, with the starting point of the time limit now clearly established as the service of the investigation report on the relevant parties.
The main amendments introduced by the New Communiqué in the first section titled “Purpose, Scope, Legal Basis and Definitions” are outlined below:
While the purpose of the Previous Communiqué has been preserved, the phrase “the parties…” has been elaborated as “the parties subject to an investigation or a final examination.”
The phrase “for all kinds of information and documents” has been specified as “for all kinds of information and documents obtained within the scope of investigations or final examinations.”
The definition of “File” has been amended to read:
“All information and documents obtained, created, or compiled within the scope of an investigation or a final examination.”
Accordingly, the file now explicitly includes information and documents obtained during final examination proceedings.
The amendments introduced in the second section titled “Exercise of the Right of Access to the File” are summarized as follows:
Paragraph (1) has been amended as follows:
“The right to access the file shall be granted upon written requests made by the parties within due time during investigations and final examinations conducted under the Law. The right to access the file may be exercised only once, unless new evidence is obtained during the investigation or the final examination.”
Moreover, paragraph (3) of the Previous Communiqué, which stated that “Requests submitted by complainants and third parties shall be assessed in accordance with general provisions,” has been repealed.
The scope of information and documents accessible under the right to access has been clarified to explicitly exclude the following:
“Internal correspondence, except for exculpatory or incriminating parts, and trade secrets shall not fall within the scope of the right to access the file.”
The term “internal correspondence,” which also existed in the Previous Communiqué, has been elaborated, providing clear identification of the types of documents considered as internal correspondence. These include: “Reports such as preliminary inquiry and initial examination reports prepared within the Authority”, “Settlement protocols and settlement texts”, and “on-site inspection reports and their annexes”.
The provision in the Previous Communiqué that allowed the right to access the file before the service of the investigation report, but permitted deferral “in order to ensure that the investigation is conducted properly and securely and to prevent the risk of destruction of potential evidence,” depending on the circumstances of the case and with stated legal justification, has been repealed under the New Communiqué.
Consequently, it has now been clearly established that the right to access the file may only be exercised after the service of the investigation report and solely by the parties to whom the report has been served.
(TCA – 04.10.2025)
NAZALI TAX & LEGAL