Uber Suspension Decision Finalized

The 11th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation upheld the decision of the local court, stating that the reasons put forward by the lawyers of the defendants in their petitions of appeal in the main and combined case were not of a nature that would require the decision to be reversed.

Taxi Driver Protests And The Court Case

On behalf of taxi drivers in Istanbul, the United Taxi Drivers Association and the Istanbul Chamber of Automobile Tradesmen filed “unfair competition” lawsuits with the Istanbul 10th and 11th Commercial Courts of First Instance, demanding the blocking of access to Uber and the banning of the company from Turkey.

The plaintiffs had also demanded the suspension of the activities of the US company Uber Technologies Inc. In the lawsuit petitions of the taxi drivers, it was claimed that the US-based company, which does not have any tax registration in Turkey, is engaged in illegal transportation over the internet, and it was requested to stop all activities of Uber in order to prevent irreparable damages to taxi drivers, to protect competition and trade, to prevent tax losses in the country and to restore commercial life.

The Istanbul 10th Commercial Court of First Instance, where the cases were later merged, made its final decision on October 16, 2019 at the end of the trial process, which included expert reports and discussions, and accepted the request to block access to Uber and ban the company from Turkey.

The court had ruled that Uber’s services constituted unfair competition, that unfair competition be banned, and that access to “www.uber.com” and Uber mobile applications where Uber services are offered and the service named Uber XL be blocked.

With the decision, Uber’s activities were suspended in Turkey. An appeal was filed to overturn the decision.