In short
An apostille certifies the authority of the signature and the seal on a foreign official document. It does not announce that the content of the document is correct. It is not a decision of enforcement of a foreign judgment, or of recognition, either. An apostilled judgment does not of itself become a Turkish enforcement judgment when it is taken to the enforcement office.
What an apostille certifies
An apostille is looked for on the document or in its annex. The certification shows that the person who placed the signature held that status on that date and that the seal belongs to that authority. The ruling in the text does not become a court judgment by the apostille. A divorce decision, a power of attorney or a diploma is not counted as a judgment enforceable in Turkey because an apostille appears.
Which document wants an apostille is read from the rule of the authority to which the document is submitted. A population directorate, a land registry, a university or a court may not ask for the same form. This article does not write a list of countries. The form the authority wants is read from the writing in that file.
The date, the competent authority and the type of document appear on the certification endorsement. It is not said "we obtained an apostille" when there is no endorsement. An e-apostille printout is also placed in the file in the same way. If a screen image is not the endorsement itself, a printout is requested separately.
Translation is a separate step
A translation is not an apostille. A sworn translation changes the language of the text. Certification and translation are not taken for the same stamp. First the original document is certified, then the translation is made. If the order is the reverse in the writing of the authority to which it is submitted, that writing is taken as the basis. The translator's stamp is not treated as having certified authority to sign.
The translation should match the name, the date and the number in the original text. A translation that does not match does not make the apostille invalid. It leads to the document not being usable in that file. The two texts are read side by side.
Enforcement of a foreign judgment is not written on the document
Enforcement of a foreign judgment is a separate action brought so that a foreign court decision can be enforced in Turkey. Recognition looks at acceptance of the decision's effect as a final judgment. The two are separated in the article on recognition and enforcement. This article does not build the conditions of that action.
An apostilled judgment is an annex of the petition for enforcement. The annex does not mean the action has been brought. A foreign judgment taken to the enforcement office before the action is brought is not treated like a Turkish enforcement judgment. The office looks for the decision of enforcement. If there is no decision, the request for proceedings stays incomplete.
Which decision needs enforcement, and which needs only an apostille, is understood from the type of document. An administrative document and a court judgment are not put on the same shelf. A power of attorney, a diploma and a birth record are most often looked for as a matter of form at the authority where they are used. A court judgment, for enforcement, enters the debate on enforcement of a foreign judgment. This distinction does not of itself produce the same result in every document. The writing of the authority to which it is submitted is read.
Which documents stand in the file
The set that is asked for is usually these: the original document, the apostille endorsement, a sworn translation and, if it is also required, certification of the translation. A missing piece does not take the place of the other. The document is brought together before the step to which it will be submitted. An endorsement that comes out incomplete on the day of the step can close the application that day. Closure does not mean the document can never be used. It is submitted again when the gap is completed.
A period is not written on the apostille. The period is set by the authority that asks for the document, or by the relevant statute. This article does not freeze a number of days. An old apostille may not be accepted in a new step. Acceptance is in that authority's current writing.
How the endorsement is read
If the document will be used in a population, land-registry or court step in Ankara, the form is in that authority's writing. The office being in Çankaya does not change which country's document needs an apostille. First it is read whether the original of the document, and whether the endorsement is tied to the document.
Three records are read apart. The first is the authority and the date on the apostille endorsement. The second is whether the document is a court judgment or an administrative document. The third is whether, if it is to be enforced in Turkey, there is a decision of enforcement. If there is an endorsement and no enforcement decision, the judgment is not treated as put into enforcement. If there is an enforcement decision and the apostille debate continues, the annexes in the petition are read again. Memorising a list of countries does not take the place of these three records.
Whether the endorsement is tied to the document is also checked. A separate page fastened with a staple can be lost if it is not on the back of the original document. A lost endorsement can produce the result as if the certification was never made. For that reason the original document, the endorsement and the translation are kept as a single set. When a photocopy of the set is submitted in place of the original, the authority may ask for the original. Asking for the original does not mean the apostille was refused.
On a power of attorney drawn up in another country, both an apostille and a notarial approval can appear. The two stamps do not do the same work. The notarial approval shows the drawing up in that country. The apostille shows the certification of authority to sign. Whichever the authority in Turkey wants, that writing is taken as the basis. If both exist, both stand in the file. One is not written in the place of the other.
Conclusion
An apostille is a certification. It does not turn the content of the document into a judgment. Enforcement of a foreign judgment is a separate action within the frame of Law No. 5718 on Private International Law and Procedure. An apostille does not take the place of that action. The framework is on the international law page.