Judicial system of Turkey


The judicial system of Turkey is defined by Articles 138 to 160 of the Constitution of Turkey.
With the founding of the Republic, Turkey adopted a civil law legal system, replacing Ottoman law and the Sharia courts. The Civil Code, adopted in 1926, was based on the Swiss Civil Code of 1907 and the Swiss Code of Obligations of 1911. Although it underwent a number of changes in 2002, it retains much of the basis of the original Code. The Criminal Code, originally based on the Italian Criminal Code, was replaced in 2005 by a Code with principles similar to the German Penal Code and German law generally. Administrative law is based on the French equivalent and procedural law generally shows the influence of the Swiss, German and French legal systems. The system can be very slow – as of 2024 one land dispute has been ongoing for 53 years.

The legal profession

The general term for members of the legal profession in Turkey is hukukçu. In Turkey, any man or woman, after having graduated from a law faculty at a university, can become attorney-at-law or barrister, judge, prosecutor or notary after terms of internship specified in separate laws. However, before obtaining the title of trainee judge, the judges and prosecutors have to pass a written exam, which is held by the Measuring, Selection and Placement Center, and an interview carried out by a committee mainly consisting of judges.

Legal education

Legal education in Turkey results in a master of law degree after about 4–5 years of study.

Lawyers (attorneys)

Private lawyers spend one year of traineeship and then join a bar association and the Union of Turkish Bar Associations. All Turkish lawyers are required to wear black robes in court. All cities have their own bar association and they are under the authority of general Turkey Bar Association. All law school graduates has a right to be included their city's bar association.

Judges

The Turkish court system does not recognize the concept of a jury. Verdicts for both criminal and civil trials are decided by a judge, or usually a panel of three judges, who have to base their verdicts on the law and their conviction. A judge is also a law school graduate and can be one of the following:
  • Criminal Judge,
  • Civil Judge,
  • Administrative Judge.
The criminal judges serve at a penal court. These courts are separated into ağır ceza, asliye ceza, and sulh ceza. The civil judges serve at civil courts of first instance or at civil courts of peace, while administrative judges serve in administrative courts. The Council of Judges and Public Prosecutors deals with the admission of judges and public prosecutors of courts of justice and administrative courts into the profession, appointments, transfers to other posts, the delegation of temporary powers, promotion to the first category, the allocation of posts; decisions concerning those whose continuation in the profession is found to be unsuitable; the imposition of disciplinary penalties and removal from office. After the Constitutional amendment which took place 2010, the composition of The High Council of Judges and Prosecutors was completely changed. It currently consists of 22 members. Ten members out of 22 are elected among the judges and prosecutors by their colleagues working in first instance courts. While five members are supreme judges elected by other supreme judges, four members of High Council are appointed among lawyers and law professors by the President of Republic and one comes from Judicial Academy. Minister of Justice is the president of High Council and The Undersecretary of the Justice Minister is also an ex-officio member. In the existing system, the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors has its own Secretariat. In addition, the Inspection Board operates under the authority of High Council.

Prosecutors

Public charges are brought by prosecutors. Their full title is Prosecutor of the Republic and they have a chief office of prosecution. Prosecutors are also divided into branches regarding their area in laws, similar to that of the judges. The Supreme Council of Judges and Public Prosecutors deals with administrative matters concerning judges of the Administrative and Judicial Courts and Public Prosecutors who are not members of the Court of Cassation or the Council of State. In the Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Turkey in 2006 it was stated:

Courts

The judicial system is composed of general law courts; specialized heavy penal courts; the Constitutional Court, the nation's highest court; and three other high courts. The Court of Cassation hears appeals for criminal cases, the council of state hears appeals of administrative cases or cases between government entities, and the audit court audits state institutions. Most cases were prosecuted in the general law courts, which include civil, administrative, and criminal courts. In 2004 parliament adopted legislation providing for the establishment of regional appeals courts to relieve the high court's caseload and allow the judiciary to operate more efficiently.

Supreme courts

The Constitution mentions the following 4 organizations as higher courts in the country:
  • Constitutional Court, for constitutional adjudication and review of individual applications concerning human rights violations
  • Court of Cassation, the final decision maker in ordinary judiciary
  • Council of State, the final decision maker in administrative judiciary
  • Court of Jurisdictional Disputes, for resolving the disputes between these courts for constitutional jurisdiction

    The Constitutional Court

The basic function of the Constitutional Court, established in the 1961 Constitution, is to examine the constitutionality, in both form and substance, of laws, and decrees with the power of law and the Rules of Procedure of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Other functions of the Court are as follows:
  • With the capacity of the High Tribunal, the Constitutional Court judges the following: the President, members of the Council of Ministers, members of supreme courts, the chairman and members of the Supreme Council of Judges and Public Prosecutors and of the Supreme Council of Public Accounts, the Chief Republic Prosecutors and the Deputy Republic Chief Prosecutors for crimes related to their offices.
  • It audits the finances of political parties.
  • It examines GNAT decisions to revoke the immunities of deputies, or to dismiss members of parliament.
  • It chooses the chairman and deputy chairman of the Court of Jurisdictional Disputes.
The Constitutional Court is composed of 11 regular and four substitute members. Decisions are made when the eleven members convene. The decisions of the Constitutional Court are final. These decisions cannot be amended in any manner and their application cannot be delayed.
Currently, the head of the Turkish Constitutional Court is Mr. Zühtü Arslan, who holds the title President of the Constitutional Court.

The Court of Cassation

The Court of Cassation is the last instance for reviewing rulings and judgments rendered by justice courts, criminal courts, the examination courts and renders verdicts upon appeal. The opinions rendered by the Court of Cassation are taken as precedents for legal rulings in the first instance courts throughout the country, so that uniform application may be achieved. It is also able to modify its own ruling upon request.
The Court of Cassation is divided into civil law and penal law chambers.Though Yargitay currently 20 civil and 20 criminal chambers, after the amendment of Yargitay Act in 2016 by the Parliament, the number of chambers will be decreased to 12 civil and 12 criminal chambers and total number of member of Court will be decreased to 210 until the end of 2018.
The highest judge, who holds the title First President, is currently Mehmet Akarca. The Court of Cassation also has a Chief Public Prosecutor, who is currently Bekir Şahin. In case of indictments against political parties, the Chief Public Prosecutor of the Court of Cassation appears before the Constitutional Court.

The Council of State

The Turkish Council of State is the highest administrative court in Turkey. It is equivalent to a federal supreme administrative court such as the Conseil d'Etat in France or the Federal Administrative Court of Germany.

The Court of Jurisdictional Disputes

The Court of Jurisdictional Disputes is the final authority to settle disputes concerning verdicts and the competences of the Justice, Administrative or Military Courts. This court is made up of members from the Court of Cassation's General Assembly and the Council of State's General Assembly.

Judicial courts

Civil courts

look at cases related to subjects like ownership, contract violation, divorce and inheritance. There are two forms of civil courts: the Peace Courts and the Civil Courts of First Instance. The Peace Courts are the lowest civil courts in Turkey with a single judge. There is at least one in every district. Its jurisdiction covers all cases assigned to the court by the Code of Civil Procedure and other laws. The second form is the Civil Courts of First Instance, which are the basic courts. Their jurisdiction covers all civil cases other than those assigned to the peace courts. There is one in every city and district, and sometimes divided into several branches according to the need and necessity.
Within the scope of Civil Courts of First Instance, there are specialized courts for certain legal areas:
  • Cadastral courts
  • Commercial courts
  • Consumer courts
  • Enforcement courts
  • Family courts
  • Intellectual and industrial property courts
  • Labour courts

    Criminal courts

look at cases related to subjects like assault, robbery, murder, arson and rape. Even though the penalties are no longer divided into light and heavy sentences, the criminal courts still are named according to the penalties they were entitled to pass. Penal courts of first instance are courts with a single judge deciding on minor cases. There is one in every city and in every district, sometimes divided into several branches according to the need and population. The heavy penal courts consist of a presiding judge and two members with a public prosecutor. Offenses and crimes involving a penalty of over five years of imprisonment are under the jurisdiction of these courts of which there is one in every city, but it is sometimes divided into several branches according to the need and population.