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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 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 (avukat), judge (hâkim or yargıç), prosecutor (savcı) or notary (noter) after terms of internship specified in separate laws. However, for the judges and prosecutors before getting the title of training judge (stajyer), they have to pass through a written exam which is held by Measuring, Selection and Placement Center (ÖSYM) and an interview carried out by a Committee mainly consisting of judges.
Legal education in Turkey results in a master of law degree after about 4–5 years of study.
Private lawyers spend one year of traineeship and then join a bar association (baro) 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.
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:
The criminal judges serve at a penal court. These courts (mahkemeler) are separated into ağır ceza (assize court), asliye ceza (penal court of first instance), and sulh ceza (penal court of peace). The civil judges serve at civil courts of first instance or at civil courts of peace (sulh or asliye hukuk mahkemeleri), while administrative judges serve in administrative courts (idari mahkemeler). The Council of Judges and Public Prosecutors (Hâkimler ve Savcılar 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. 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.
Public charges are brought by prosecutors (savcı). Their full title is Prosecutor of the Republic (Cumhuriyet savcısı) and they have a chief office of prosecution (Cumhuriyet Başsavcılığı). 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 (released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor in the US State Department on March 6, 2007) it was stated:
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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 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 (avukat), judge (hâkim or yargıç), prosecutor (savcı) or notary (noter) after terms of internship specified in separate laws. However, for the judges and prosecutors before getting the title of training judge (stajyer), they have to pass through a written exam which is held by Measuring, Selection and Placement Center (ÖSYM) and an interview carried out by a Committee mainly consisting of judges.
Legal education in Turkey results in a master of law degree after about 4–5 years of study.
Private lawyers spend one year of traineeship and then join a bar association (baro) 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.
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:
The criminal judges serve at a penal court. These courts (mahkemeler) are separated into ağır ceza (assize court), asliye ceza (penal court of first instance), and sulh ceza (penal court of peace). The civil judges serve at civil courts of first instance or at civil courts of peace (sulh or asliye hukuk mahkemeleri), while administrative judges serve in administrative courts (idari mahkemeler). The Council of Judges and Public Prosecutors (Hâkimler ve Savcılar 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. 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.
Public charges are brought by prosecutors (savcı). Their full title is Prosecutor of the Republic (Cumhuriyet savcısı) and they have a chief office of prosecution (Cumhuriyet Başsavcılığı). 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 (released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor in the US State Department on March 6, 2007) it was stated: