LAW ON ATTORNEYS BENEFIT FUND

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LAW ON ATTORNEYS BENEFIT FUND

[ Law number 6207 – Passed 21 December 1953
Published  29 December 1953 in Official Gazette issue 8595
Series 3, Volume 35, page 222 ]



Article 1 – <Amended as per Article 1136/193 dated 19 March 1969>
An "Attorneys Benefit Fund" may be established in every bar association with the decision of the general assembly of the bar association.
Membership in the Fund will be optional.
The purpose of establishing the Funds is to provide and make arrangements for the aid to be given, in ways and amounts to be determined, to attorneys whose indigence has been recognized by the boards of directors of bar associations; or attorneys who, after having completed a designated period as members, have discontinued their relationship with bar associations due to their incapacitation for active service for such reasons as old age, illness, or disability; or persons appointed earlier by attorneys who died during their practice of attorneyship; or, in the absence of such appointments, to the inheritors to be identified in regulations.
The administration and manner of operation of the Funds; the conditions, rates, and amounts of entitlement mentioned in Subparagraph a, regarding expenditures, of Article 2; and the actions to be taken in respect of those failing to pay the admission fees, dues, and shares of participation mentioned in Subparagraphs b and c of the first paragraph of Article 2 and the second paragraph of Article 4 will be prescribed in regulations to be prepared by the boards of directors of bar associations and adopted by their general assemblies.
The administration and representation of the Funds falls under the jurisdiction of the boards of directors of bar associations.

Article 2 – The revenues of the Funds are the following:
a) The sale of benefit stamps mentioned in Article 3.
b) One-time admission fees to be received from Fund members.
c) Monthly dues to be received from Fund members.
d) Donations.
e) Other revenues.
The expenditures of the Funds are the following:
a) Aid and allocations of which the conditions for entitlement, the rates, and the amounts mentioned in the third paragraph of Article 1 will be determined by regulations.
b) Administrative expenditures.
c) Extraordinary expenditures other than indicated in the third paragraph of Article 1 which are appropriate to the purpose of benefit.
The revenues and expenditures of the Funds and all their actions will be exempt from all kinds of taxes and duties.

Article 3 – Benefit stamps will be affixed to all kinds of legal instruments that attorneys will draw up, submit, or issue while conducting the activities stated in Article 23 of the Attorneyship Law. Papers not bearing benefit stamps, or bearing less than the correct amount, will be made to be completed to the correct amount, although accepted.
Attorneys will pay the cost of the stamps themselves and will not receive it from their clients by any means.
The value of the stamps may not be less than 20 kurush and more than 100 kurush.
The stamps will be produced by the Ministry of Finance and given to bar associations at cost.
The value of the stamps to be affixed to each type of document will be prescribed in regulations.

Article 4 – <Amended as per Article 1136/193 dated 19 March 1969>
The provision in Article 3 will not be applied to attorneys who are not members in a Benefit Fund and attorneys representing clients benefiting from judicial aid.
Attorneys who are members in a Benefit Fund will pay a fixed monthly share of participation, to be specified in regulations, in addition to the admission fee and the dues mentioned in Subparagraphs b and c of the first paragraph of Article 1.

Article 5 – <Amended as per Article 1136/193 dated 19 March 1969>
Attorneys determined to have received the value of the stamps from their client, or have failed to fulfill or complete the missing portion of their obligation in respect of stamps despite a warning and the setting of an appropriate deadline by the authority concerned in contradiction of the first paragraph of Article 3 will be fined with 50 Turkish Liras in the first instance and 100 Turkish Liras at every reoccurrence by a decision of the disciplinary board of the bar association. Such fines will be collected in accordance with Article 162 of the Attorneyship Law and marked as revenue for the Fund.

Article 6 – The provisions regarding professional insurance mentioned in Part Seven of the Attorneyship Law have been abolished.

Article 7 – The present Law enters into effect as of the date of its publication.

Article 8 – The provisions of the present Law will be implemented by the Minister of Justice.

DATES OF ENTRY EFFECT OF LEGISLATION
SUPPLEMENTING OR AMENDING LAW NUMBER 6207

   Law number   Articles entering into effect on different dates   Date of entry into effect
1   1136   ––   7 July 1969