Judicial System in Turkey
First of all, the legal structure in Turkey is a civil law system. The fundamental component of this structure is essentially legislation. The legal structure in Turkey does not operate based on case law in that precedents are not of binding nature for other courts. Although the courts in Turkey do tend to adjudicate in accordance with the decisions of the Court of Cassation. These decisions however are not binding. The only exceptions of this rule are the decisions of the General Assembly on the Unification of Judgments. The main sources used by the courts in the adjudication processes are the Turkish constitution, the entirety of the laws, decrees issued by the president of the republic, doctrine, past and unified decisions of the Court of Cassation and other relevant regulations. While written proceedings are the norm in Turkey, oral proceedings are also permitted in certain cases.
Ordinary justice is divided into two in Turkey with civil courts on one side and criminal courts on the other. While civil courts have jurisdiction in civil matters, there are also courts that have specialized in their own areas allocated for cases concerning specific topics. You may find the civil court system and its bodies below:
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Court Of Cassation |
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Regional Courts of Justice |
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Civil Courts |
Criminal Courts |
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General Courts |
Specialized Courts |
General Courts |
Specialized Courts |
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Civil Courts Of Peace |
Commercial Courts Of First Instance |
Criminal Courts Of Peace |
Juvenile High Criminal Courts |
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Civil Courts Of First Instance |
Civil Courts Of Enforcement |
Criminal Courts Of First Instance |
Juvenile Courts |
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Cadastral Courts |
Assize Courts or High Criminal Courts |
Criminal Courts Of Enforcement |
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Labour Courts |
Criminal Courts Of Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights |
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Consumer Courts |
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Civil Courts Of Intellectual And Industrial Property Rights |
Criminal Execution Judgeships |
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Family Courts |
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As you can see, there are specialized courts operating for both civil and criminal matters. Also, the system of appeals has been divided into two. While the jurisdiction of the Regional Courts of Appeal is regional, the Court of Cassation has jurisdiction throughout the country. However, the Court of Cassation has many chambers within itself which each specialize in different fields of law.
In addition to civil and criminal justice, there are administrative courts which oversee administrative issues and matters concerning taxation. You may find the system of administrative courts and its bodies below:
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Council of State |
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Regional Administrative Courts |
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Administrative Courts |
Tax Courts |
As you may see, the highest tribunal of administrative jurisdiction is The Council of State which has the power over all administrative courts. Administrative Courts resolve all administrative matters which do not fall under the jurisdiction of Tax Courts. The decisions of both courts can be appealed before the Regional Administrative Courts.
For more detailed information on this matter, please refer to our other blog posts or contact us via e-mail or telephone.