Legal System in the Republic of Turkey
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The Legal system in the Republic of Turkey consists of civilian and military courts.
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[edit] Lawyers
Legal professionals are almost always graduates of law schools (Hukuk Fakültesi in Turkish language). Professionals that are in private practice, or provide legal counsel for civil/private organizations hold the title advocate/lawyer (avukat). A lawyer spends one year of internship and then enters a bar association (baro) in a district of his choice. Lawyers can represent their clients in any court (maybe excluding military courts).
[edit] Judges
The Turkish court system does not include the concept of jury. Verdicts are reached by judges (yargıç), who base their verdicts on the law. 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 two are referred to as courts of justice (hukuk mahkemeleri), while the last serves in administrative courts (idari mahkemeler).
[edit] Prosecuters
Public defenders are called prosecutor (savcı). They work closely with law enforcement, and have the right to carry and conceal a firearm. Their full title is the Republic’s Prosecutor (Cumhuriyet savcisi). Prosecutors are also divided into branches regarding their area in laws, similar to that of the judges.
[edit] Civilian justice
[edit] Judicial courts (courts of justice)
The judicial courts form the largest part of the system; they handle most civil and criminal cases involving ordinary citizens.
[edit] Supreme courts
The two supreme courts within the judicial system are:
- Turkish Constitutional Court
- Turkish High Court of Appeals (except for administrative law matters, which is handled by the "Daniştay")
[edit] The Constitutional Court
The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Turkey (T.C. Anayasa Mahkemesi) handles constitutional matters. Its major purpose is to determine whether the laws passed by the Grand National Assembly are consistent with the constitution. It has the authority of annulment, if it finds the law in question "unconstitutional". The Constitutional Court also tries the heads of other courts in constitutional matters.
Currently, the head of the Turkish Constitutional Court is Mrs. Tülay Tuğcu, who holds the title President of the Constitutional Court (Anayasa Mahkemesi Başkani).
[edit] The High Court of Appeals
The High Court of Appeals of Turkey (Yargıtay) is the senior judicial court in matters of the entire civil and criminal justice, but not related directly to the constitution. The court holds the authority to make void any verdicts of lower-level courts of justice.
The highest judge, who holds the title First President (Birinci Başkan), is currently Osman Arslan. The High Court of Appeals also has a Chief Public Prosecutor (Yargitay Cumhuriyet Bassavcisi) in contrast to the Constitutional Court, who is currently Nuri Ok.
[edit] Administrative justice
The highest administrative court in Turkey is the Turkish Council of State (Daniştay) or, equivalent to a federal supreme administrative court such as the Conseil d'Etat in France.
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 Zafer Kantarcıoğlu.
District administrative courts (bölge idare mahkemeleri), administrative courts (idari mahkemeler) and tax courts (vergi mahkemeleri) are another lower courts and deal with regional administrative issues.
[edit] Military justice
The military court system exercises jurisdiction over military personnel, and during periods of martial law (periods of military takover/coups/or crisis) have jurisdiction over civilians accused of "crimes against the state". The military court system consists of
- military courts,
- a supreme military administrative court, and
- the military court of appeals, which its decisions are final on its reviews and verdicts of the military courts.
[edit] Military courts
Military courts are ordinary courts in which matters related to the administration and justice in military area of jurisdiction. They consist of a military judge (askeri yargıç), and a military prosecutor (askeri savci). They are under the Judge&Advocate Corps and all hold the title judge (yargıç) along with their ordinary officer's ranks whether they are on the bench or prosecutors.
In Turkish military courts, there rarely are advocates to the accused. So the person in trial generally defends his/her own case, but he/she is also entitled to legal counsel from military personnel with the title "askeri yargıç".
[edit] Military High Court of Appeals
The Military High Court of Appeals (Askeri Yargitay), is the court that supersedes ordinary courts in judicial cases and has the authority of the annulment of their verdicts. It has a president, usually a brigadier general and a Chief Prosecutor usually a colonel.
[edit] Military High Court of Administration
The Military High Court of Administration (Askeri Yüksek İdare Mahkemesi), is the court that supersedes ordinary courts in administrative matters. It's orginazation is similar to that of the Military High Court of Appeals.
Note that military courts and civilian courts do not act as subordinates to each other. They are independent from each other and any political influence. Also note that military courts are exceptional and are only available in military restricted areas. They can only reach verdicts involving military staff or administration, in military area of jurisdiction.
[edit] Court of Jurisdictional Disputes
The Court of Jurisdictional Disputes works on cases that cannot be classified within the purview of any of the other courts. The courts that handle jurisdictional disputes are called "uyuşmazlık mahkemeleri".
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Law Search engine - Law Search engine(in Turkish)
- Avukat Info - Lawyers System Info (in Turkish)
- Legal Practices Info - Categorised Legal Practices Info(in Turkish)
- Comparative Laws - Comparative Laws (in Turkish)
