I. General

This Privacy Notice aims to inform you, under Art. 10 of the Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 dated 24.03.2016 (“Law No. 6698”), about the purposes of and legal grounds for processing your personal data, and your rights. The Notice gives you, in other words, an overview of the kind of personal data we collect, why and on what basis we collect them, and what rights you have in relation to your personal data. Personal data means any information that can be linked to you personally, i.e. your name, address, email address and IP address.

II. Controller

For the purposes of Art. 3 of Law No. 6698, Meritlex is the Data Controller and may process your personal data as the data controller under the said Law within the specified scope. Please also refer to the Legal Notice.

III. Types and Methods of Collection of Personal Data

Within the framework of the legal services we provide, the following personal data may be processed by Meritlex in accordance with the principles stipulated in Art. 4 of Law No. 6698.

       a. Identity data: Name, surname, ID number (Passport number or Foreigner ID number for non-Turkish citizens), place and date of birth, marital status.

       b. Contact Information: Address, telephone number, e-mail address and other contact information if available.

       c. Financial Information: Bank account number, IBAN number, invoicing information.

       d. Device data: IP address, unique device identifier, other data linked to a device.

       e. Other: Additional information and related documents about the subject of the requested service.

Above mentioned personal data may be collected directly from you or from companies or organizations you are related to and public authorities.

IV. Processing Purposes of Personal Data

Personal data stated under Part III a, b, c, d, e may be processed for the purposes of registration of clients, provision of legal services, execution of litigation processes and representation of the client before the court.

Personal data stated under Part III c may also be processed for the invoicing purposes.

Personal data stated under Part III a, b, c may also be processed in the case of distribution of newsletters, legal updates, invitation and registration of events.

V. Legal Grounds of Processing

Meritlex may process your personal data based on the personal data processing conditions specified in Art. 5 of Law No. 6698.

Personal data stated under Part III a, b, c, d, e may be processed based on the legal grounds that:

- processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is party or in order to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering into a contract,

- processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation (obligations may arise from contractual, accounting and tax purposes, anti-money laundering regulations) to which the controller is subject,

- processing is mandatory for the establishment, exercise or protection of a right.

- processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests (such as improving our services and monitoring compliance with our policies and standards, ensuring the security and effectiveness of our website) pursued by the controller, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject.

In the absence of legal grounds, personal data shall be processed only with the explicit consent of the data subject.

VI. Transfer of Personal Data

Personal data processed by Meritlex may be transferred within the framework specified in Articles 8 and 9 of Law No. 6698;

-  To judicial or administrative authorities, supervisory and regulatory authorities, government officials, attorneys with sub-power of attorney, contracted counselors, mediators, experts, or related parties in order to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim, execute an alternative dispute resolution process, or provide legal services,

- To judicial authorities and mediators for the execution of litigation processes and representation of the client before the courts,

- To our service providers, such as accounting services to manage our business operations,

- To administrative authorities for compliance purposes, i.e. to Financial Crimes Investigation Board of Turkey for anti-money laundering regulations (Art. 2/1d of Law No. 5549).

VII. Data Subject’s Rights

The rights you can exercise under Art. 11 of Law No. 6698 regarding your personal data are listed below;

- Learn whether your personal data is being processed or not,

- Request information if your personal data has been processed,

- Learn the purpose of the processing of your personal data and whether these data are being used in compliance with such purpose,

- Know the third parties to whom your personal data are transferred within the Country or abroad,

- Request the rectification of the incomplete or inaccurate data, if any,

- Request erasure or destruction of your data in the event that the data is no longer necessary in relation to the purpose for which they were collected,

- Request reporting of the operations carried out pursuant to sub-paragraphs (d) and (e) to third parties to whom your personal data have been transferred,

- Object to the occurrence of a negative result against you by cause of analyzing the data processed solely through automated systems,

- Claim compensation for the damage arising from the unlawful processing of your personal data.

You can submit your applications regarding your rights above to Meritlex in writing by hand or mail, or digitally via e-mail with a secure electronic signature, mobile signature or your e-mail address previously notified to Meritlex and registered in our system.

Depending on the nature of your request, your applications will be finalised free of charge as soon as possible and within thirty days at the latest; however, if the transaction requires an additional cost, you may be charged a fee according to the tariff determined by the Personal Data Protection Board.