Social responsibility of joint stock companies

Although corporate social responsibility has entered the radar of Turkish business world in recent years, it is both a topic of discussion and a wish that has existed since the birth of corporate law. Within the scope of this thesis, it is aimed to go one step further than mentioning the concept of corporate social responsibility, which has no agreed definition, in only non-binding legal instruments for years. It is argued that this step will be possible by making the concept a binding legal rule within the framework of company law legislation. In the research methodology, besides focusing on the analysis of the legislation provisions in force, non-binding law (soft law) regulations due to the historical development of the concept are also included. Within the scope of the current Turkish legislation, especially the provisions of the Turkish Commercial Code, it is seen that it is not possible for companies to continue their existence in a way that takes into account the interests of other stakeholders such as workers, creditors, environment and society other than the shareholders. In this direction, it is claimed that corporate social responsibility can be grounded within the scope of company law by, inter alia, softening the company's aim of making profit, strengthening the positions of other stakeholders within the company, changing the structure of the Board of Directors and reorganizing the scope of Board of Directors' duty of care.