In parallel with fast-moving social and commercial developments, Turkey has always sought for a better judicial system in order to provide up-to-date and more efficient regulations in line with the social and commercial needs of the country, especially during the last decade. In this regard, Turkish Ministry of Justice ("Ministry") published its first judicial reform strategy in 2009 which was subsequently followed by the second strategy in 2015. As a result of these strategies, there were several amendments brought into Turkish law such as introducing the Law on Protection of Personal Data, establishing the Human Rights Compensation Commission and adopting the mandatory mediation system regarding many civil lawsuits.

As a part of this amelioration process, the Ministry has published the third judicial reform strategy ("Strategy") in May 2019 which we will summarize below. The main purposes set out in the Strategy can be summarized as follows;

  • Simplifying judicial proceedings,
  • Protecting rights and freedoms more efficiently,
  • Providing easier access to justice,
  • Enhancing the independence, transparency and impartiality of the judicial system,
  • Reinforcing the right of defense and the right to trial in a reasonable time

Protecting rights and freedoms more efficiently and enhancing them

The Strategy sets out three steps to be taken in order to protect rights and freedoms more efficiently and enhance them as follows; (i) making necessary amendments to the current legislation to improve the standards regarding rights and freedoms, (ii) a new Human Rights Action Plan will be enacted and implemented efficiently and (iii) the consciousness of the members of the judicial system will be increased.

It is stated in the Strategy that access blocking procedures stipulated under the Law No. 5651 on the Regulation of Broadcasts via Internet and Prevention of Crimes Committed through Such Broadcasts and other relevant legislation will be evaluated in line with the freedom of expression and necessary amendments will be made accordingly. In similar, the scope of the principle of "blocking only the infringing content not the whole website" will be widened and implemented more efficiently.

It is also stated that an effective mechanism will be adopted to examine the violation of the right to trial in a reasonable time and applications for compensation arising thereof.

Improving the Efficiency of the Trial System

There are several proposed amendments regarding both the first instance courts and the regional appeal system in the Strategy. In this regard, specialized first instance courts will be established for the disputes related to the areas requiring a special legal expertise such as environment, real estate and energy. In addition, four additional Regional Appeal Courts will be established in Kayseri, Van, Diyarbakır and Trabzon.

Easier Judicial Procedures for Foreigners

Strategy aims to enable foreigners to access to justice easily. In order to do so, online brochures regarding the Turkish justice system will be prepared for foreigners.

Strategy also provides that it would be possible to obtain a copy of the legal transactions made before the foreign representative offices by people living abroad from any notary public in Turkey through an information system simultaneously which would certainly shorten the proceedings.

Simpler and Faster Judicial Processes for Civil Law Proceedings

Strategy refers to some critics on the complicated and lengthy civil law procedures and admits some defects in civil law proceedings in Turkey such as unpracticable procedural provisions. In order to eliminate such defects and pave the way for simpler and faster civil law proceedings, the Strategy aims to put the following into practice:   

  • The preliminary examination and investigation phase will be held compulsorily in a single hearing.
  • A simpler and faster trial procedure will be adopted for the cases amounting small claims and a simple trial procedure will be applied in all cases where the subject matter can be measured in money and is below a certain monetary amount.
  • Sound and video information system will be used more in civil justice in order to expedite the proceedings.
  • Recording of evidence will also be carried out by public notaries limited to some ex parte proceedings within the period before a lawsuit is filed.

Developing International Legal Aid and Judicial Cooperation

Given the globalization of the world, the number of disputes containing foreign elements has rapidly increased and the Strategy aims to enhance international legal aid and judicial cooperation proceedings accordingly. In this regard, it is stated in the Strategy that the foreign organization of the Ministry will be strengthened. More importantly, procedures for the recognition and enforcement of the decisions granted by foreign courts will be reviewed and simplified which has indeed been an emerging need in practice.

Expanding Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods

The Strategy provides that alternative dispute resolution methods will be expanded in both civil and criminal proceedings as well as in the disputes which a public authority is a party to. In order to do so, the Strategy sets out the following steps to be taken:

  • In addition to the current mandatory mediation proceedings, mandatory mediation before filing a lawsuit will be brought for more disputes such as consumer disputes.
  • In case a dispute is resolved by settlement, only fixed fees will be paid instead of proportional fees and decision fees.

An application for settlement will be mandatory for the disputes between the public authorities and the individuals and the disputes arising from both public and private law between different institutions.

Conclusion

We believe that the Strategy has successfully determined the defects in Turkish judicial system and the steps to be taken in order to eliminate them as much as possible. Indeed, given the high number of pending cases, which also leads inefficient and lengthy proceedings, a simpler and faster judicial system is highly needed. It is also important to note the contemplated alternative dispute resolution system which could reduce the number of the cases in case of a successful and proper implementation.

The Strategy has also properly detected the need for a global approach on the justice system. In this regard, an easier access to justice for foreigners will be ensured and the procedures for the recognition and enforcement of the decisions granted by foreign courts will be reviewed and simplified.

We hope that the Strategy will be implemented properly and therefore provide a trustworthy and accessible justice system as stated in the Strategy.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.