About the Chamber

Description:
Chambers are described as follows in the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey and Chambers and Commodity Exchanges Law (No. 5174), Article 4:

“Chambers are public professional organizations established as legal entities to fulfill the needs of their members, to facilitate their professional activities, to provide for the development of the profession in accordance with general interests, to protect professional discipline, ethics and solidarity so as to ensure honesty and trust in the relationships of their members, with each other and with the public, and to fulfill the tasks entrusted to Chambers in the related legislation and regulations.

DUTIES OF THE CHAMBER
In accordance with the description in Law No. 5174, the duties of Chambers are as follows:

a) To protect and progress professional ethics, discipline and solidarity, to work for the progression of commerce and industry in conformity with public interest.
b) To collect information and news regarding commerce and industry, and to pass it on to interested parties, to provide information requested by official authorities in accordance with the relevant laws, and especially, to provide any on-demand information that may be required by their members during the performance of their work, or to facilitate their members in acquiring such information, to take initiatives in guiding their members with regard to electronic commerce and Internet networks, and to establish and operate the necessary infrastructure for these activities.
c) To conduct all-round research with regard to commerce and industry, to keep records of indexes and statistics concerning economic, commercial and industrial activities in its regions, to follow and record the market prices of principal commodities and to disseminate them through appropriate channels.
d) To prepare and approve the documents indicated in article 26.
e) To make offers, requests and applications to official authorities with regard to their professional activities; to file suits upon a decision of the assembly on behalf of itself or its members, where filing such suits is for the benefit of all or part of the membership.
f) To determine commercial and industrial customs, traditions and inclinations in their professional fields, to submit them to the Ministry for approval, and to announce them.
g) To take professional decisions with which the members are obliged to comply.
h) To participate in domestic and overseas trade fairs and expositions.
ı) When deemed necessary, to determine and approve the maximum price tariffs for goods and services for their members, as listed in article 125 of Law No. 507 on Craftsmen and Tradesmen, in compliance with the regulation to be enacted by the Ministry.

NOTES: Articles j, k, l, m, n, o and p related to the Chamber of Shipping have been omitted.

r) To perform the duties assigned by other relevant legislation and by the Union and the Ministry in accordance with the relevant Laws.
s) To keep the members’ records in accordance with the standards set out by the Union, and to file documents regarding membership dues and to submit them to the Union when requested.
t) To carry out duties given to ministries or other public organizations and agencies through legislation, if such duties are delegated to chambers within the framework of the establishment objectives and duty areas indicated in the Law.
u) To supply the necessary documents to its members and to provide services in connection therewith.
v) To evaluate the applications received for domestic fairs and make proposals to the Union.
y) To examine consumer complaints regarding their members and to undertake other activities in line with their founding purposes.
z) To issue capacity reports for industrialists by the chambers of commerce and industry, and for those provinces where the commerce and industry chambers are separate, by the Chambers of Industry.
Within the framework of the legislative provisions, the chambers perform other duties as follows:

a) To establish or participate in laboratories to determine the quality of commercial goods, to establish or participate in international calibration, testing laboratories, to provide certification services.
b) With the permission, and under the supervision, of the Ministry of National Education, to open courses in commerce, maritime and industry, to aid in the courses that have already been opened, to train students overseas or domestically for the required areas, and to provide trainees; to work on the improvement and orientation of professional and technical education and training, to issue documents related to the said practices in the professional fields that are not covered by Law No. 3308 on Professional Education, limited to the offices of their members.
c) Upon the request of relevant persons, to act as an arbitrator in commercial and industrial disputes and to form arbitration boards.
d) To participate in exhibitions, fairs, public warehouses, depots, museums and libraries that are already opened or are to be opened.
e) To establish and manage industrial sites, industrial zones, organized industrial zones, technology development zones, techno-parks, technology centers in places deemed appropriate by the authorized Ministry; within the framework of Law No. 3218 on Free Zones, to be a founder and manager or only a manager of free zones, to operate warehouses and to establish and operate fair areas, congress centers and commercial centers or to participate in those already established, as part of their duties.

ORGANS OF THE COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY CHAMBERS
Functioning with Tasks and Authorities

A- The Chamber’s license, representation and signature authority Chambers are entitled to buy, sell, build, subdivide, unite and pledge real and movable estates, borrow money, expropriate, support social activities, incentivize, donate and help, and are authorized to establish foundations and companies, or to become partners with established companies, and to perform similar legal proceedings.

A chamber’s legal representative is the chairman of the board. The joint signatures of the chairman of the board of directors and at least one other member of the board, or the secretary general, are legally binding for a chamber.

B- Duties of Chambers
The duties of chambers are:
a) To protect and progress professional ethics, discipline and solidarity, to work for the progression of commerce and industry in conformity with public interest.
b) To collect information and news regarding commerce and industry, and to provide them to interested parties, to provide information requested by official authorities in accordance with the relevant laws, and especially to provide any on-demand information that may be required by their members during the performance of their work, or to facilitate their members in acquiring such information, to take initiatives in guiding their members with regard to electronic commerce and Internet networks, and to establish and operate the necessary infrastructure for these activities.
c) To conduct all-round research with regard to commerce and industry, to keep records of indexes and statistics concerning economic, commercial and industrial activities in its regions, to monitor and record the market prices of principal commodities and to disseminate them through appropriate channels.
d) To prepare and to approve the documents indicated in Article 5174.
e) To make offers, requests and applications to official authorities with regard to their professional activities; to file suits with a decision by the assembly on behalf of itself or its members, where filing such suits is for the benefit of all or part of the members.
f) To determine commercial and industrial customs, traditions and inclinations in their professional fields, to submit them to the Ministry for approval, and to announce them.
g) To take professional decisions with which the members are obliged to comply.
h) To participate in domestic and overseas trade fairs and expositions.
ı) When deemed necessary, to determine and approve the maximum price tariffs for goods and services for their members, as listed in Article 125 of Law No. 507 on Craftsmen and Tradesmen, in compliance with the regulation that will be enacted by the Ministry.
i) To perform the duties assigned by other relevant legislation and by the Union and the Ministry in accordance with the relevant Laws.
j) To keep the members’ records in accordance with the standards set out by the Union, and to file the documents regarding membership dues and to submit them to the Union if requested.
k) To carry out duties given to ministries or other public organizations and agencies through legislation, if such duties are delegated to chambers within the framework of the establishment objectives and duty areas indicated in the Law.
l) To supply the necessary documents to its members and to provide services in connection therewith.
m) To evaluate the applications received for domestic fairs and make proposals to the Union.
n) To examine consumer complaints regarding their members, and to undertake other activities in line with their founding purposes.
o) To issue capacity reports for industrialists by the chambers of commerce and industry, and for those provinces where the commerce and industry chambers are separate, by the chambers of industry.
Within the framework of the legislative provisions, the chambers perform other duties as follows:
a) To establish or to participate in laboratories to determine the quality of commercial goods, to establish or participate in international calibration, testing laboratories, to provide certification services.
b) With the permission, and under the supervision, of the Ministry of National Education, to open courses in commerce, maritime and industry, to aid the courses that have already been opened, to train students overseas or domestically for the required areas, and to provide trainees for such courses; to work on the improvement and orientation of professional and technical education and training, to issue documents related to the said practices in the professional fields that are not covered by Law No. 3308 on Professional Education, limited to the offices of their members.
c) Upon the request of the relevant persons, to act as an arbitrator in commercial and industrial disputes and to form arbitration boards.
d) To participate in exhibitions, fairs, public warehouses, depots, museums and libraries that are already opened or are to be opened.
e) To establish and manage industrial sites, industrial zones, organized industrial zones, technology development zones, techno-parks, technology centers in places deemed appropriate by the authorized Ministry; within the framework of Law No. 3218 on Free
Zones, to be a founder and manager or only a manager of free zones, to operate warehouses and to establish and operate fair areas, congress centers and commercial centers or to participate in those already established, are part of their duties.
C- Chamber Organs, Formations and Tasks
The organs of the Chamber are:
a) Professional Committees.
b) Assembly.
c) Board of Directors.
d) Disciplinary Board

1- Chamber Professional Committees
The Chamber has five professional committees, comprising five or seven people who are elected for four years. In the case of a Chamber of more than 10,000 members, the number of people on professional committees may be five, seven, nine or 11. Alternate members are selected to the same number as the original members. There are a total of 20 professional committees in our Chamber.
The committee elects a president and a vice president from among its members for four years.

1-a) Duties of chamber professional committees
The duties of the chamber professional committees are:
a) To perform investigations regarding their professions, and to propose measures they deem to be beneficial or necessary to the Board.
b) To decide on which members of the Assembly, along with the President and Vice President, will participate in voting for items on the Assembly’s meeting agenda regarding the professional committee.
c) To research and respond to requests from the Assembly or the Board regarding their professional fields.
d) To perform other duties assigned by relevant legislation.

2- Chamber Assembly
The Chamber Assembly consists of members to be elected for four years by professional groups.
Professional committees elect two Assembly members when their group consists of five, three in groups of seven, four in groups of nine and five Assembly members in groups of 12. In addition, the same number of alternate members are elected. The number of members of the Assembly is 56.

The Assembly elects one president, one or two vice presidents, and a secretary for four years from among its members.

The president and his or her deputies cannot be elected both as chairman or member of the board of directors and to the disciplinary committee.
Those who have held the Assembly presidency for two consecutive terms cannot be re-elected until two electoral periods have passed.


2-a) Duties of the Chamber Assembly
a) Electing members of the Board of Directors and the Disciplinary Board.
b) Electing, from among its members, the delegates for the Union’s general assembly.
c) Investigating and finalizing decisions on the proposals from the Board of Directors.
d) Taking mandatory professional decisions.
e) Determining commercial and industrial customs, traditions and inclinations in their fields and announcing them.
f) Investigating and approving monthly balances and transfer requests.
g) To form arbitration boards for disputes among its members or contracts entered into by their members, and to approve lists of arbitrators or experts requested by courts.
h) Finalizing decisions proposed by the disciplinary board regarding registered members.
i) To approve and release to the Board the annual budgets and final accounts, to initiate legal proceedings on those deemed responsible.
j) Deciding on buying, selling, building, subdividing, uniting and pledging real and movable estates, borrowing money, expropriating, building schools and classrooms, and within the provisions of this law, establishing foundations and companies or entering into partnerships with established companies.
k) Approving the Chamber’s internal directive, and presenting it to the Union.
l) To investigate and finalize objections to decisions made by the Board with regard to registration with the Chamber and member status.
m) To establish specialized commissions and advisory committees regarding professions and issues.
n) To become members of domestic and foreign industry, commerce and economic institutions, and to send delegates to their conventions.
o) To investigate and finalize proposals from the Board, and to delegate this power to the Board when necessary, regarding waiving debt follow-ups, and waiving and/or restructuring the accrued debts and interests of members, who default on their dues as a result of death, quitting business and force majeure, such as fire, flood, earthquake and similar natural disasters, and regarding the lawsuits for the Chamber or its members.
p) To grant honorary memberships to those who have contributed significantly to the Chamber’s work, or to the Turkish economy, by two-thirds vote of the entire membership.
r) To perform other duties assigned by relevant legislation.

3- Chamber Board
The Chamber Board has five members, elected for four years, when the total number of the Assembly members is less than 20. When it is between 20 and 29, the Board has seven members, when between 30 and 39, it has nine members, and when the membership is 40 or above, it has 11 members.

The Assembly elects the chairman of the board of directors from among its members, and the original and alternate members in a single list. The board elects one or two vice presidents and a treasurer for four years from among its members.

Those who have served two consecutive terms as chair cannot be re-elected until two electoral periods have passed. The chairman and members of the board of a chamber cannot take part in the chamber of another chamber or exchange at the same time.

Meeting agendas are determined by the chairman or the deputy authorized by the chairman. In addition, new items may be added to agendas up until the start of the meeting, upon the request of at least one-third of the members of the board of directors.

3-a) Duties of the Chamber Board
The duties of the chamber board are:
a) To run the operations of the Chamber with respect to legislation and the decisions of the Assembly.
b) To present the budget, final accounts and transfer requests and corresponding reports to the Assembly.
c) To present the monthly accounts report to the Assembly for investigation.
d) To decide on hiring, layoffs, promotions and transfers of personnel.
e) To decide on investigations of the disciplinary board, ensuring the execution of disciplinary and monetary penalties within the framework of this law.
f) To prepare lists of arbitrators and experts, and presenting them to the Assembly for approval.
g) To approve the documentation mentioned in this law or other relevant legislation.
h) To prepare the annual report on the chamber’s operations and the state of the economy and industry within its region, and to present it to the Assembly.
i) To prepare and present the internal directives to the Assembly.
j) To conduct all round research with regard to commerce and industry, to keep records of indexes and statistics concerning commercial and industrial activities, to monitor and record the market prices of principal commodities and to disseminate them through appropriate channels.
k) To decide on disciplinary matters regarding the chamber personnel with respect to the provisions of this law and the guidelines and methods included in the relevant legislation.


l) Awarding members who pay high levels of taxes, and for high exports and technology development.
m) Provided that it is budgeted for, supporting and incentivizing social activities, giving donations and assistance, providing scholarships, and building schools and classrooms upon approval of the Assembly.
n) Electing arbitrators or arbitration committees.
o) To perform other duties assigned by this law and other relevant legislation to chambers, or duties that are not specifically assigned organs.


3-b) Delegation of Authority of the Board of Directors
The chamber board may, if necessary, delegate some of its powers to the President, one or more of its members, or the secretary general.


4- Chamber Disciplinary Board
The chamber disciplinary board is elected by the Assembly for four years from among those registered in the chamber and consists of six original and six alternate members.
At its first meeting after the election, the disciplinary board elects a president from among its members.
In the absence of the president, the oldest member chairs the board.
The required qualifications for members of the disciplinary board shall be determined by a regulation issued by the Ministry in accordance with the opinion of the Union.


4-a) Duties of the Chamber Disciplinary Board

The duties of the chamber disciplinary board are:
a) To carry out disciplinary investigations of chamber members in accordance with the provisions of this law, and the guidelines and methods included in the relevant legislation.
b) To propose disciplinary and monetary penalties for chamber members to the Assembly.