Criminal Justice System in Turkey Mustafa Ünal ERTEN.

Criminal Justice System in Turkey

Mustafa Ünal ERTEN

Farthest Asian, Closest European country to Indonesia

Overview

• History and Bonds• Turkey at a Glance• Law System in General• Law and Order Responsibility • Law Enforcement Agencies• Legal Profession• The Functioning of Legal System in Turkey

History and Bonds

• “Turkey and Indonesia have always been great friends. • Relations actually date to centuries before the modern

international system. It is known that the court of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent had developed a relationship with the Indonesian sultanate(1566-1567), which is now the Indonesian province of Aceh, a deep relationship that covered the politico-security, economic and socio-cultural fields.

• The Republic of Turkey was proclaimed in 1923, and the Republic of Indonesia proclaimed independence in 1945.”*

* Edited version of a speech delivered by the president of Indonesia, H.E. DR. H. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, at the Turkish Parliament on June 29, 2010.

Turkey at a Glance

• "Republic of Turkey" is the successor state of the Ottoman Empire.

• The republic was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923.

• The population of Turkey is over 72.5 million

• Turkey is a parliamentary representative democracy.

Law System

• Turkey followed on the continental law system. • The main source of law is the legislative statutes.

Legislative statutes include; • -the constitution, • -codes and laws,• -international agreements,• -decree-laws, regulations, by-laws, circulars. • Other sources of law; -precedents -doctrine -

customs and -general principles of law.

Law System

• The Civil Code, modeled on the Swiss Civil Code of 1912 went into effect in 1926.

• The Penal Code, modeled on the Italian Penal Code of 1899 went into effect in 1926.

• The Civil Procedural Law of 1927 modeled of the Swiss Law of 1925.

• The Penal Procedural Law of 1929 modeled on the German Law of 1877.

Separation of Powers• The sovereignty is based on the separation of powers

in Turkey. • The sovereignty belongs only to the nation and shall be

exercised by the authorized organs. As,

• the legislative power is exercised by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey,

• the executive power is exercised by the State President and the Government,

• the judicial power is practiced by the independent courts.

Law and Order Responsibility

• Matters relating to the maintenance of law and order, including policing, national security, and immigration matters are the responsibility of Ministry of Interior.

• The administration of justice are the responsibility of Ministry of Justice.

Police

• The police force is the main responsible instituiton for law enforcement in cities

• The high command of the Turkish Police, situated in Ankara (the capital city), is called the General Directorate of Security. Every district also hosts a District Directorate (81 Districts) .

• The organization has a centralized hierarchy.

Gendarmerie

• Military forces of law enforcement in Turkey.

• Assume duties under the Minister of Interior.

• Their area of jurisdiction is outside city centres.

Coast Guard

• Responsible for controlling the coasts and fighting smuggling.

• During peace time, it is under the command of the Ministry of Interior.

• During emergency and war time it falls under the command of the Turkish Navy.

A short Summary

Ministry of Interior

Police Gendarmerie Coast Guard

The legal profession

• Having graduated from a law faculty at a university people can become

• attorney-at-law, barrister (avukat), • Judge (hâkim or yargıç ), • Prosecutor (savcı ) or • notary or public notary (noter ) after terms of

internship specified in separate laws.

Judges

• The Turkish court system does not include the concept of jury.

• Verdicts are reached by judges or a panel of judges.

• criminal judge (wears a red collar) serves in Penal Courts

• civil judge (wears a green collar) serves in civil courts of first instance or at civil courts of peace

• administrative judge (wears a light brown collar) serves in administrative courts

Prosecutors

• All offences are prosecuted in the name of the People, by public prosecutors who are virtually representatives of the executive branch of Government within judiciary. (Articles 147, 148 of Turkish Code of Criminal Procedure.)

• Police and other LEA’s are under the Public Prosecutor authority with respect to their judicial functions.

Summary

• History and Bonds• Turkey at a Glance• Law System in General• Law and Order Responsibility • Law Enforcement Agencies• Legal Profession• The Functioning of Legal System in Turkey