Constitutional Court Decides on the Cancellation of Article 40, Paragraph 7 of the Maritime Labour Law

The Decision of The Constitutional Court dated February 1, 2024 with file no 2022/154 and decision no 2024/33 was published in the Official Gazette numbered 32489 on March 14, 2024.

The purpose of this Decision is to protect the right to rest guaranteed by the Constitution.

Paragraph 7 of Article 40 of the Maritime Labour Law ("Law") states that "If the service contract is terminated in accordance with paragraphs II, III and IV of Article 14 before the seaman has used the annual paid leave to which he is entitled, the employer or the employer's representative must pay the seaman the wage for the leave period." Subparagraph I of Article 14 of the Law, which is not mentioned in the relevant article, regulates the employer's right of termination in cases where it becomes impossible for the seaman to work and there is a contrary to the law, customs and ethical rules.

Thus, it has been determined by the Constitutional Court that if the employment contract is terminated by the employer in accordance with Article 14, subparagraph I of the Law, that is, due to violation of the service relationship, the seaman cannot claim the unused annual leave fee from the employer before the seaman uses the annual paid leave to which he/she is entitled.

With the new regulations;

It has been concluded that Article 40, Paragraph 7 of the Maritime Labour Law is not similar to the regulations regarding the service relations within the scope of the Turkish Code of Obligations, the Labour Law and the Press Labour Law, and is contrary to the right to rest guaranteed by the Constitution.

In order to eliminate the legal gap, this annulment provision will enter into force 6 months after the publication of the decision.

You can access the Official Gazette regarding the subject matter here (In Turkish).

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