Turker Yondem

Partner at Yöndem Yiğit Üçlertoprağı Attorneys at Law

Istanbul, Türkiye

About

Türker advises clients in commercial, civil and criminal matters, represents them in litigation and arbitration. He is an EU Jean Monnet Scholar (2009 LLM King's College London), Lord Mayor of London's first Turkish Mansion House Scholar (2007 PPPs PUK London) and Turkish Treasury Scholar (2003 LLM Boston University). In 2020, Turkish Constitutional Court unanimously accepted two human rights violation claims filed by Turker on protection of personal data. The judgements established landmark precedent in Türkiye, parallel to the European Court of Human Rights' Barbulescu precedent, and they have been cited in numerous legal articles and books. These two judgments, BB 2016/13010 and BB 2016/13011, which confirmed the human rights breaches of a leading global law firm and its Turkish affiliate as the joint employers of two lawyers, came after a six-year long legal disputes spanning numerous civil, criminal, and disciplinary cases some of which still continue. On his speech dated 28.06.2021, the President of the Constitutional Court made special reference to the importance of these judgements which can be reached at https://www.anayasa.gov.tr/en/news/news-and-events/symposium-on-the-right-to-respect-for-private-life-within-the-scope-of-professional-life/. Türker's book on these judgements and ECHR's Barbulescu precedent will be publicized soon. Before 2008, Turker served at the International Project Finance Department of the Turkish Ministry of the Treasury for ten years as the PPP Section Manager and Project Finance Specialist. He worked for international financing of public infrastructure projects and negotiated multimillion dollar loan and project agreements with international lenders and sponsors including commercial banks, eximbanks and multilaterals. In this role Turker monitored progress of projects and work to coordinate the relations among international lenders, construction or supplier firms and project implementing public agencies. These public projects included ones in transport (airports, highways, bridges), defense, energy, water and municipality sectors implemented either through traditional or Public Private Partnerships (PPP) methods such as Build-Operate-Transfers (BOT) and Concessions. He received certificates of the World Bank Institute in Washington DC and UK Treasury in London on PPP projects and advised WB Group's IFC and UN's UNECE on PPPs. In 2013 he served as the sole Reporter of the first national PPP Ad Hoc Commission formed by the Turkish Ministry of Development and the Report he drafted was published.

Experience

  • Partner at Yöndem Yiğit Üçlertoprağı Attorneys at Law
    Nov 2014 - Present · 11 yrs 9 mos

    Experienced in public and private sector matters.

  • STC Consultant at IFC - International Finance Corporation
    Jun 2015 - May 2017 · 2 yrs

  • Attorney & Counsel at Attorney & Counsel
    Nov 2012 - Oct 2014 · 2 yrs

  • Partner at Yalti Yöndem Attorneys at Law
    Aug 2010 - Nov 2012 · 2 yrs 4 mos

  • Interlocutor at UNECE
    2011 - 2012 · 1 yr