Criminal Law

The most decisive moment in criminal proceedings is usually the one people are least prepared for: the first statement. A sentence said, or left unsaid, at that stage can shape the whole file. As an investigation moves on the room for producing evidence narrows, and camera footage that was not requested at the outset may no longer be recoverable.

The investigation stage Attendance while a statement is taken at the police station or at the prosecutor's office, review of custody procedures, objection to an arrest decision, requests for judicial control measures, submission of evidence to the file, objection to a decision of non-prosecution. Custody (gözaltı) and arrest (tutuklama) are two different institutions. Custody is a temporary measure applied on the instruction of the public prosecutor. Arrest requires a judge's decision and is possible only where strong suspicion of an offence and one of the grounds for arrest listed in the law are present together. Where judicial control (adli kontrol) is sufficient, arrest may not be ordered.

The right to silence and defence counsel A suspect has the right to remain silent, and using that right cannot be interpreted against them. Counsel may be requested before a statement is taken. A person with no lawyer of their own may ask for one to be appointed through the bar association, and that request is entered in the record. In certain situations listed in the law the appointment of defence counsel is compulsory.

The trial stage and offences seen most often Defence before the high criminal court (ağır ceza mahkemesi) and the criminal court of first instance (asliye ceza mahkemesi), assessment of witness and expert evidence, applications to remove unlawfully obtained evidence from the file. Intentional injury, threat, insult, abuse of trust, fraud and its aggravated forms, forgery of official documents and unlawful deprivation of liberty are among the offence types encountered frequently. In narcotics files the decisive distinction is whether the conduct is classified as possession for personal use or as trafficking.

Mediation in criminal matters For certain offences listed in the law the file is referred to the criminal mediation office (uzlaştırma bürosu) before an indictment is drawn up. If agreement is reached, a decision of non-prosecution follows. If it is not, the file proceeds in the ordinary way, and statements made during the mediation talks cannot be used as evidence.

Appeals and enforcement of sentence Applications to the regional court of appeal (istinaf) and to the Court of Cassation (temyiz), individual application to the Constitutional Court against decisions that have become final, application to the European Court of Human Rights once domestic remedies are exhausted; requests concerning conditional release, probation and postponement of the execution of a sentence.

Frequently asked questions

How long can police custody last? A person who has been detained may be held for no longer than the period set out in the law, excluding travel time; in offences committed collectively the prosecutor may extend that period within defined limits. When the period ends, the person is either released or brought before a judge with a request for arrest. A decision to take someone into custody may be challenged before the criminal judgeship of peace (sulh ceza hâkimliği).

Can an arrest decision be challenged? It can. The time limit for objecting runs from the decision and is a matter of a few days. Release may also be requested at any point during the investigation and the trial, and detention is reviewed at regular intervals by the court of its own motion.

If I withdraw my complaint, does the case end? Withdrawal brings proceedings to an end only for offences whose prosecution depends on a complaint, and the defendant must also accept the withdrawal. Where the offence is not complaint-dependent, withdrawal does not end the trial: the prosecution service continues in the name of the public.

Is the postponement of the announcement of the verdict still applied? This measure, known in Turkish as hükmün açıklanmasının geri bırakılması, ceased to be applicable when the Constitutional Court's annulment decision entered into force. Supervision periods attached to decisions given earlier continue under their own terms. The subject sits on the legislative agenda, so in every file the position in force on the date of the decision has to be checked.

When is a criminal record erased? Once the sentence has been served the entry is removed from the criminal record and transferred to the archive record. Deleting the archive record requires the periods laid down in the law to pass, or a decision restoring forfeited rights (memnu hakların iadesi).

Time limits and procedures

• Complaint period: six months from learning of the act and the offender, for offences whose prosecution depends on a complaint.
• Objection to a decision of non-prosecution: fifteen days from service, to the criminal judgeship of peace.
• Appeal (istinaf): seven days, running from the pronouncement where the judgment was delivered in the person's presence, and from service where it was not.
• Cassation (temyiz): fifteen days, in the cases the law leaves open to cassation.
• Individual application to the Constitutional Court: thirty days after ordinary remedies are exhausted. European Court of Human Rights: four months.
• Competent court: the high criminal court for offences carrying aggravated life imprisonment, life imprisonment or more than ten years; the criminal court of first instance for the rest. Protective measures during an investigation are ordered by the criminal judgeship of peace.
• Court with jurisdiction: as a rule the court of the place where the offence was committed.

In criminal proceedings the outcome depends on the state of the evidence, the particular circumstances of the file and the assessment of the court. No undertaking as to result can be given at any stage.