Land valuation issues of expropriation applications in Turkey

In Turkey, land expropriation applications present problems for both the state and landowners. A significant number of expropriation implementations cause disagreements between the state and landowners, resulting in court proceedings. This is frequently because the expropriation value is different from the market value, so there are problems in how land prices are determined in order to obtain "real value". There are also three other key issues: (i) delays in payment of additional compensation to landowners; (ii) seizure without official expropriation; and (iii) de facto expropriation. With Turkey bidding to join the European Union, this national issue is now becoming an international one. Lawsuits against Turkish expropriation implementations are already being brought to the European Court of Human Rights. To avoid this problem, the compensation paid for expropriated land needs to be determined according to some objective land valuation criteria. However, Turkey lacks both the necessary data and an efficient land assessment policy for determining value. This article discusses the system and process currently used for determining land values in expropriation implementations in Turkey. It looks at why the expropriation value is often different from the market value in the context of some civil jurisdictions. Finally, it discusses how recent amendments to the country's expropriation law have given more rights to landowners in Turkey.