Postponing and Cancellation of Organizations Due To the COVID-19 Outbreak

The circular issued by the Ministry of Interior has temporarily suspended activities held in venues such as theaters, cinemas, show centers, concert halls, engagement/wedding venues, association clubhouses, and sports centers. Accordingly, organization companies have had to cancel or postpone planned events.

This development has initiated a discussion on how the circular and the measures taken will affect the legal relations, and on what basis and how the refund of the canceled organizations will be realized. In this post, we examined the issue of the canceled events and the actions that the parties who made payments for the vent may take.
 

Refund of Prepayments

Cancellation of numerous events becomes compulsory in accordance with the circulars issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In these cases, this matter is considered as a force majeure for the organizers and the customers that have been planning to participate in the event. The reciprocal obligations of the parties will end on the basis of impossibility of performance. In this context, individuals who have rented and prepaid for venues for organizations such as weddings, fairs, conferences shall have the right to request a refund. On the other hand, consumers who have purchased an event ticket will be able to return the ticket and request a refund.
 

It Is Not Possible to Make a Deduction on Refunds

Contractual provisions relating to deductions on rent or ticket fee payments for the cancellation or postponements of the events for reasons that cannot be attributed to the fault of a party may constitute an unfair terms and should be deemed as legally invalid. In a case the cancellation as a result of force majeure, neither party is at fault. Therefore, refunds must be carried out over exact amounts.
 

Which Actions Can Consumers Take if Refund has not been Realized?

The organizers or the parties which have leased venues are obligated to carry out a refund. In the event a refund has not been realized, the consumer shall be able to claim the amount subject to refund, any damages incurred as a result of nonpayment and default interest.

The consumer who has not received their refund should initially issue a written notification through a notary public requesting a refund. Subsequently, if the consumer has not received their refund, they may opt to claim their refund before the Consumer Arbitration Committees, enforcement offices, or Consumer Courts.

* Content: Stj. Av. Zeynep Ece Uyarer