Discharge of the members of the board of directors and the effects of discharge to the liability cases according to the New Turkish Commercial Code

The law maker has allocated important responsiblities to the members of the directorate who have mandate relationship with the corporation. The responsibility of the members to the corporation, partners and the debtees expire in three circumstances: proof of impeccability, acquittal, and lapse of time. The new regulation has set a legal foundation for orders of discharge which are adopted due to the agenda or confirmation of the balance sheet, and the effects of the orders of discharge.The main subject of our dissertation is acquittal as a responsibility-ending condition and the effects of acquittal on responsibilities. In company law, acquittal is an intra-partnership procedure and has the characteristics of negative acknowledgement of debt. With this decree, the plenary committee declares that they will not file a liability suit against the members of the directorate due to procedures and acts in accounting period.As a result of the mentioned characteristics, acquittal has a limited effect. The acquittal decree of the plenary committee forestalls the liability suit which is filed by the partners who acquire shares knowingly of the acquittal decree or who votes for the decree with the corporation. But it does not forestall the liability suits that are filed by other partners and debtees. Aforementioned `?other partners?? means the partners who have voted against or uncommitted the acquittal or have not attended the plenary meeting because of an excuse. Thus acquittal will not constitute an impediment to liability suits for these people. Nonetheless, the law maker regarded necessary the limitation of aforementioned effect with a certain period, stipulating that these people file liability suits within a six-month lapse of time after the acquittal decree is given.Key Words: Balance Sheet, Responsibility, Acquittal, Types of Acquittal Effect of Acquittal.