Competition is the rivalry among enterprises in goods and services markets that enables them to make economic decisions freely.

In Turkey, a comprehensive economic stabilization program was implemented on January 24, 1980, aimed at liberalizing prices by removing price controls, closing the foreign resource gap, and adopting an export-oriented industrialization model instead of import substitution, thereby ensuring a functional economy. The January 24 decisions brought significant structural changes to the Turkish economy by minimizing state intervention and establishing a free market economy led by the private sector.

According to Article 167 of the 1982 Constitution, the state is tasked with taking measures to ensure the healthy and orderly operation of monetary, credit, capital, goods, and services markets, and to prevent monopolies and cartels that may arise de facto or through agreements. Similarly, Article 48 of the Constitution guarantees freedom of work and contract, allowing the establishment of private enterprises while requiring the state to implement measures to ensure that such enterprises operate in accordance with national economic needs and social objectives, under secure and stable conditions. Additionally, Turkey’s relations with the European Union have been a significant factor in establishing regulations concerning competition law.

Competition laws serve as a kind of “economic constitution,” providing the state with the legal framework to establish and protect a competitive environment in the economy. These laws prohibit enterprises from restricting competition through agreements, mergers and acquisitions, or abuse of dominant positions.

To ensure compliance with constitutional obligations and international agreements, the Law on the Protection of Competition (Law No. 4054) was enacted on December 7, 1994, and published in the Official Gazette on December 13, 1994. Law No. 4054 grants the Competition Authority the power and responsibility to regulate, supervise, and enforce measures in the field of competition. These duties are carried out by the Competition Board, the decision-making body of the Authority.

As stated in Article 1 of the Law, the purpose is to protect competition by preventing or regulating agreements, decisions, and practices that distort, restrict, or prevent competition in goods and services markets, as well as to prevent the abuse of dominant positions by enterprises and to implement necessary regulations and supervision. The concept of competition is defined in Article 3 of Law No. 4054 as “the rivalry among enterprises in goods and services markets that enables them to make economic decisions freely.” The Law is structured into two main parts: the first covering “Purpose, Scope, and Definitions” and the second, the substantive law section, titled “Prohibited Activities.” In this context, Article 4 prohibits agreements, concerted practices, and decisions of associations that restrict competition among enterprises; Article 6 prohibits the abuse of a dominant position; and Article 7 prohibits mergers or acquisitions intended to establish or strengthen a dominant position.