What is a platform? How does it acquire legal entity status?

In Article 2 of the Associations Law, a “platform” is defined as “temporary associations without legal personality, formed under names such as initiative or movement, created by associations amongst themselves or together with foundations, unions, and similar civil society organizations, in order to achieve a common goal.” Additionally, Article 25 of the Law states that associations may establish platforms to achieve a common purpose relevant to their objectives and not prohibited by law, either among themselves or together with foundations, unions, and similar civil society organizations, by decisions of their authorized bodies. Furthermore, the Associations Regulation (“Regulation”) requires that, in the decisions taken by the authorized bodies of associations for establishing platforms, the persons who will be assigned to represent the association must be designated. The Regulation further stipulates that in order for the platform to commence its activities, a memorandum of understanding must be drawn up by the representatives, and this memorandum should include the purpose of the platform’s establishment, the location where its activities will be carried out, as well as the names of the members of the management group and the coordinator.

At this point, there are some important considerations to keep in mind. Platforms cannot be established for purposes or activities prohibited by laws for associations, and anyone acting against this prohibition is subject to the penal provisions of the relevant laws. In addition, although the regulations on platforms are included in the associations legislation, we should remember that platforms do not have legal personality and are of a temporary nature. Therefore, for example, in activities requiring official permits from authorities, official procedures may be carried out with the direct signatures of the civil society organizations that constitute the platform.