Legal system of the Republic of Turkey Totally Explained

Everything about Legal System Of The Republic Of Turkey totally explained

The basics of the legal system in the Republic of Turkey are laid out in Articles 138 to 160 of the 1982 Constitution. Civilian and military jurisdiction is separated. While military courts usually only try military personnel they can also try civilians in times of martial law and in matters concerning military service.

The legal profession

The general term for members of the legal profession is hukukçu. Having graduated from a law faculty at a university they can become avukat (attorney-at-law, barrister), hâkim or yargıç (judge), savcı (prosecutor) or noter (notary or public notary) after terms of internship specified in separate laws.

Lawyers

Lawyers spend one year of internship and then enter a bar association (baro) in a

Judges

The Turkish court system doesn't include the concept of jury. Verdicts are reached by judges or a panel of 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 (wears a red collar),
civil judge (wears a green collar),
administrative judge (wears a light brown collar).

The first judge is serving at a penal court. These courts (mahkeme(ler)) are separated into asliye ceza (also translated as penal court of first instance) and ağır ceza (heavy penal court). The second kind of judge serves at a court of justice or judicial courts (sulh or asliye hukuk mahkemeleri), while the last serves in administrative courts (idari mahkemeler). The Supreme Council of Judges and Public Prosecutors (Hakimler ve Savcılar Yüksek Kurulu) 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 In the Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Turkey in 2006 (released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor in the US State Department on March 6, 2007) it was stated: ť The High Council of Judges and Prosecutors was widely criticized for undermining the independence of the judiciary. The minister of justice serves as chairman of the seven-member high council, and the justice ministry undersecretary also serves on the council. The high council selects judges and prosecutors for the higher courts and is responsible for oversight of the lower courts. The high council is located in the Ministry of Justice and doesn't have its own budget. While the constitution provides for job security through tenure, the high council controls the careers of judges and prosecutors through appointments, transfers, promotions, reprimands, and other mechanisms.

Civilian justice

The judicial system is composed of general law courts; specialized heavy penal courts; military courts; the Constitutional Court, the nation's highest court; and three other high courts. The high court of appeals 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.

Judicial courts (courts of justice)

There are two forms of judicial courts. The (civil) peace courts (sulh mahkemeleri) 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 civil courts of first instance (asliye hukuk mahkemeleri) 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

Supreme courts

The Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court of Appeals, the Council of State, the Supreme Military Court of Appeals, the Supreme Military Administrative Court and the Court of Jurisdictional Conflicts are the supreme courts mentioned in the judicial section of the Constitution
The highest judge, who holds the title First President (Birinci Başkan), is currently Hasan Gerçeker. The High Court of Appeals also has a Chief Public Prosecutor (Yargitay Cumhuriyet Başsavcısı) in contrast to the Constitutional Court, who is currently Abdurrahman Yalçınkaya.

The Audit Court

The Audit Court or the Supreme Council of Public Accounts (Sayıştay) is charged with auditing, on behalf of the GNAT, all accounts related to the revenues, expenditures and property of government departments financed by general and subsidiary budgets. No applications for judicial review of its decisions shall be filed in administrative courts. The Turkish constitution is said to contradict with itself by not listing Sayıştay amongst supreme courts in articles 146-159 while allowing no appeals to most of its decisions, effectively giving it supreme court power.

Administrative justice

Administrative courts (idari mahkemeler) exist at provincial level. The next instance are regional administrative courts (bölge idari mahkemeler). The highest administrative court in Turkey is the Turkish Council of State (Danıştay also called Supreme Administrative Court) or, equivalent to a federal supreme administrative court such as the Conseil d'Etat in France or the Federal Administrative Court of Germany (Bundesverwaltungsgericht).
Its president (Danıştay Başkanı) is currently Mrs. Sumru Çörtoğlu. The court also has a Chief Public Prosecutor or rather Advocate General (Danıştay Başsavcısı), who is currently Mrs. Tansel Çölaşan.

Military justice

The military court system exercises jurisdiction over military personnel and during periods of martial law. The duties are described in Article 11 of Law 1402 on Martial Law of May 1971. Further details are laid out in Articles 11 to 14 of Law 353 on the Foundation and Criminal Procedures at Military Courts of October 1963 (revised in October 2006).
The military court system consists of

military courts,

a supreme military administrative court, and

the military court of appeals.

Military courts

Military Courts have jurisdiction to try military personnel for military offenses, for offenses committed by them against other military personnel or crimes committed in military places, or for offenses connected with military service and duties. Under martial law military courts are competent to try all offences that led to the announcement of martial law. Article 14 of Law 353 describes the offences to be tried at military courts in time of war. According to Article 2 of Law 353 the courts consist of two military judges (askeri yargıç) and an officer. In cases involving more than 200 defendants the bench has four judges and one officer. Military prosecutors (askeri savcı) will be appointed according to the need. Judges and prosecutors hold the title judge (yargıç) along with their ordinary officer's ranks whether they're on the bench or prosecutors.
In military courts, there rarely are defense lawyers to the accused, although the defendants are entitled to legal counsel from military personnel with the title "askeri yargıç".

Military High Court of Appeals

The Military High Court of Appeals or the Supreme Military Court of Appeals (Askeri Yargıtay) is the court of final instance for all rulings and verdicts rendered by military courts. It is also a court of first and final instance with jurisdiction over certain military personnel, stipulated by law, with responsibility for any specific trials of these persons. It has a President, usually a brigadier general and a Chief Prosecutor usually a colonel.

Military High Court of Administration

The Military High Court of Administration or the Supreme Military Administrative Court (Askeri Yüksek İdare Mahkemesi) has jurisdiction over military personnel in administrative cases or active military service. It's organization is similar to that of the Military High Court of Appeals.
Note that military courts and civilian courts don't act as subordinates to each other. They are independent from each other and should be immune to political influence. Also note that military courts are exceptional and are only available in military restricted areas.

Court of Jurisdictional Disputes

The Court of Jurisdictional Conflicts (uyuşmazlık mahkemesi) 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 of the High Court of Appeals, the Council of State, the Supreme Military Court of Appeals, and the Military Administrative Court of Appeals.

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