1. What is the Turkish Law?
There are four main legal systems in the world; Continental European Legal System, Anglo-Saxon Legal System, Islamic Legal System and Socialist Legal System. The Turkish Law System is included in the Continental European legal system based on written form.
The fact that the Turkish legal system is based on the principle of writing means that the legal rules are known in written form with the provisions of the Constitution, International Agreements, Laws, Regulations and other legislation. In the Turkish legal system, legal rules are written. In this way, unity and certainty in legal matters are ensured.
2. What are the Basic Principles of the State of the Republic of Turkey / Türkiye?
The State of Turkey / Türkiye is a republic. The Republic of Turkey is a democratic, secular and social state of law that respects human rights. Its official language is Turkish, and its flag is a red flag with a white crescent and a star. Its capital is Ankara, and its national anthem is the “Independence Anthem”.
The information given above is actually enlightening about the Turkish Legal System.
The obligations that are mentioned in the definitions such as being a republic, respecting human rights, being democratic, being secular, being a social state and being a state of law are the principles that form the basis of the Turkish Legal System.
The main powers of the Republic of Turkey are divided into 3 and they are connected to the system of controlling each other; Legislative power, Executive Power and Duties and Jurisdiction.
3. What are the Sources of the Turkish Legal System?
In the Turkish Legal System, there are main sources and auxiliary sources.
Main sources; means binding rules for everyone. Constitution, International Conventions, Laws, Decrees with the Force of Law, Presidential Decrees, Regulations, Statutes, Circular, Circular, Decrees. However, the decisions of the Court of Cassation and the Council of State to unify the jurisprudence and the decisions of the Constitutional Court are also binding and are among the main sources.
Supplementary resources are; Doctrines (Scientific opinions), Ijtihads (Judiciary decisions). Supplementary resources are not binding and are important in terms of helping law practitioners in practice and guiding them.
4. What are the Fundamental Rights and Freedoms in the Turkish Legal System?
The most important source of the Turkish legal system is undoubtedly the Constitution.
The Constitution of the Republic of Turkey includes Fundamental Rights and Duties as the Second Part. According to this; Everyone has inviolable, inalienable, and indispensable fundamental rights and freedoms depending on his personality.
The scope and limits of the rights specified in the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey are regulated by laws.
However, the fundamental rights and freedoms specified in the European Convention on Human Rights accepted by the Republic of Turkey are also binding on everyone. It is also possible to apply to the European Court of Human Rights in case of violation of the fundamental rights and freedoms specified in the European Convention on Human Rights.
5. How to Resolve Legal Disputes in the Turkish Legal System?
The mechanisms you have to apply in case of violation of the fundamental rights and freedoms specified in the Turkish Legal System, the application period and the procedural rules required for the determination or resolution of the dispute are also written.
In case of restriction, limitation or violation of your fundamental rights and freedoms; You will have to determine in which legislation provisions your rights and freedoms are regulated, and then, if the legislation has foreseen what you should do in case of such a violation, you will first have to resort to that way.
In order to solve your legal problem, you may first need to apply to administrative institutions and organizations.
In order to solve your legal problem, you may need to apply to private law persons and send a warning.
You may need to resort to compulsory mediation to resolve your legal issue.
You may need to file a lawsuit to resolve your legal issue.
You may need to apply to arbitration or an arbitral tribunal to resolve your legal problem.
You may need to initiate enforcement proceedings to resolve your legal problem.
You may need to do one or more of these solutions at the same time. Or, your application to one may prevent you from doing the other.
Applications to the solutions mentioned above usually have to be made in a certain time and in a certain way.
You should evaluate the possibility of being right and being wrong in your applications to solve your legal problem. You should be aware of the risks that await you, especially if you are proved wrong. Otherwise, you may not be able to solve your legal problem, and you may have other problems.
Let’s try to explain the issues we mentioned under this title with an example;
Let’s assume that you applied to the Governor’s Office for the extension of your residence permit, but your application for the extension of your residence permit was rejected. In this case, the first thing to do is to determine in which legislation your right to “Residence Permit and Extension of Residence Permit” is regulated.
It would be correct to proceed from the top of the hierarchy of legal rules to the bottom of the law before determining the legislation. Since the issue in which your right is violated is the request for “extension of residence permit”, this issue is within the scope of the right of settlement.
According to Article 23 of the Constitution; Everyone has the freedom of establishment and travel.
In Article 24 of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection; Residence permits can be extended by the governorates. Its provision is included. In addition, in Article 25 of the Law; “Rejection of the residence permit request, non-extension or cancellation of the permit shall be notified to the foreigner or his/her legal representative or lawyer. The notification also includes how the foreigner can effectively use their right to object to the decision and other legal rights and obligations in this process.” rule is included.
In the second paragraph of Article 29 of the Regulation on the Implementation of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection; “The decision to reject, cancel or not extend the residence permit application is notified to the foreigner or his/her legal representative or lawyer.” provision is included.
In article 80 of the Law; “An objection can be made to the International Protection Evaluation Commission within ten days from the notification of the decision by the person concerned or his/her legal representative or lawyer. However, only judicial action can be taken against the decisions made in accordance with Articles 68, 72 and 79.” provision is included. In Article 99 of the Regulation; “With the exception of administrative detention, inadmissible application and expedited evaluation decisions, an objection can be made to the International Protection Evaluation Commission within ten days from the notification of the decision against the administrative decisions regarding the international protection application.” In the first paragraph of Article 101, the applicant or his lawyer or legal representative may apply to the authorized administrative court against the inadmissible application and expedited evaluation decisions, within fifteen days from the notification of the decision. Applications made to the court are finalized within fifteen days. The decision of the court on this matter is final.” In the second paragraph of the article, it is stated that ”Any administrative decisions other than administrative detention, inadmissible applications and expedited evaluation decisions can be appealed to the administrative court within thirty days from the notification of the decision.” provision has been made.
In our example, the legislative provisions that need to be determined first in order to resolve the legal problem of “Rejection of the Application for Residence Permit Extension” are as above. According to the legislation, two ways are presented. The first is to appeal to the International Protection Valuation Commission, and the second is to file a lawsuit at the Administrative Court.
The part after this process is even more complicated. Because, in order to file a lawsuit in the Administrative Court and follow the litigation process, you need to know the Administrative Procedure Law No. 2577. Issues such as how to write a lawsuit petition, which administrative court the lawsuit will be filed in, and what to do if the lawsuit is rejected are regulated in this law. In addition, the fees you have to pay while filing a lawsuit and the amount are regulated in the Fees Law No. 492.
Apart from the laws and regulations that we have briefly given here, there are dozens of other legislative provisions that you need to know and research in order to solve your legal problem of “Rejection of the Application for Extension of Residence Permit”.
Legislation research in Turkey can be done on the website of “https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/“, which is the Presidential Legislation system. However, it will not be easy for a non-jurist person who wants to solve his legal problem on his own to reach the provisions of the legislation we have given above. It is very difficult for a non-lawyer to determine the effective date of laws and which law or legislative provision should be applied to his or her legal case. If this person does not know the Turkish language, it is almost impossible to accurately determine what to do.
The legislation in the Turkish legal system is very complex. It would be more accurate to express this as follows; The number of laws in force in the Republic of Turkey is unknown. Besides the laws, the number of regulations, communiqués and circulars is also unknown. Temporary articles in some laws may prevent the implementation of the article brought to solve your legal problem, and you may not realize it. Even if some laws have been repealed and amended, some provisions of the old law may still be applied. Again, you may not know this.
For all these reasons, getting help from lawyers and law firms whose profession is enforcing laws and resolving legal disputes will help you save time, effort and money.
By the way, it is useful to remind the following: to give opinions in legal matters and legal matters, to sue and defend the rights of real and legal persons before the court, arbitrator or other bodies having jurisdiction, to follow legal proceedings, to submit all documents pertaining to these matters. Editing is solely the responsibility of the lawyers registered with the bar association. (Article 35 of the Law on Advocacy)
Lawyers are the only people you need to know about legal matters. We recommend that you stay away from companies and people who claim to help you resolve disputes, provide information or help you in legal matters. Because if you get help from people who are not lawyers in your legal issue, your legal problem may not be resolved. There may be different sanctions against you due to misinformation.
6. Can I Follow My Own Case Personally in the Turkish Legal System?
Before answering the question of whether I can pursue my own case in the Turkish legal system, the following issue should be clarified; What is the type of your case? In which jurisdiction is your case heard?
If your case is a criminal case; then the following question needs to be answered; What is your title of party in the lawsuit?
If your title of party in the criminal case is “Participant”, then you can follow your case yourself. However, there are exceptions.
If your title of party in the criminal case is “Defendant”, then the situation will change. The accused child, who is dragged into crime, is so disabled or deaf and dumb that he cannot defend himself, If he is a person who is on trial for crimes whose lower limit is more than five years in prison, he cannot follow his case personally. A Criminal Defense Attorney is appointed to follow the case of necessity.
If your case is a civil, administrative or tax case; You can open your case yourself and follow the whole litigation process yourself.
However, in solving all your legal problems, we recommend that you seek help from lawyers and law firms that provide professional services in solving legal problems.
7. What is the Criminal Case in the Turkish Law System?
The criminal case in the Turkish Law System is a case filed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office against people who violate the provisions of the Turkish Criminal Code if there is sufficient suspicion of a crime. The purpose of the Criminal Code is to protect human rights and freedoms, public order and security, the rule of law, public health and the environment, public peace and prevent the commission of crimes. The Public Prosecutor prepares an indictment after conducting the investigation. Then, the court accepts the indictment and a criminal case is opened. Because of all criminal cases are public cases, people cannot file criminal cases.
The general courts that deal with criminal cases are the heavy penal court and the criminal court of first instance. The special courts that deal with criminal cases are the children’s court, the children’s criminal court and the criminal court of intellectual and industrial rights.
8. What is the Civil Case in the Turkish Law System?
Civil cases are cases that arise when a violation of rights occurs in people’s relations with each other that does not be within Criminal Law’s area of interest . Civil cases are divided into three. These are; action of performance, declaratory action and formative cases. In the action of permance , the plaintiff asks that the defendant be sentenced to give, do or not do something. The declaratory action is a case filed to determine the existence or absence of a legal relationship. In the formative cases, the plaintiff asks the court to make a decision that will terminate or change an existing legal relationship or create a new one.
The general courts that deal with civil cases are the court of peace and the court of first instance. The special courts are the commercial court of first instance, the family court, the employment court, the intellectual and industrial rights court, the executive court, the cadastral court and the consumer court.
9. What are the Administrative Case and the Tax Case in the Turkish Law?
Administrative cases are lawsuits filed against the actions of the administration. Administrative cases are divided into three. These are the nullity suit , full remedy action and cases related to disputes arising between the parties due to the administrative contracts. The nullity suit is a lawsuit filed by persons whose right to cancel has been violated due to one of the aspects of the authority, form, reason, subject and purpose of the administration’s actions, as well as due to violation of the law. Full remedy action are cases filed by people whose personal rights have been directly violated due to administrative actions and actions. In cases of full remedy action, people ask the administration for the fulfillment of their violated rights or compensation for the damage they have suffered. Arising from an administrative contract are cases related to disputes arising between the parties arising from any administrative contract concluded for the performance of one of the public services. Administrative cases are heard in administrative courts and tax courts, as well as in district administrative courts and the Council of State.
The tax case is a lawsuit filed in civil disputes arising between the state and individuals due to a tax debt. Tax administrations initiate the taxation process with a description and end it with a collection process. Description and collection transactions are administrative transactions. Citizens whose rights have been violated have the right to file a lawsuit against administrative actions taken on the description or collection. Tax cases are heard in the tax courts.
10. What is the Administrative Application in the Turkish Law?
The administrative application is that before filing a lawsuit against administrative actions, the removal, reinstatement, modification, or new administrative action may be requested from the higher authority or the authority that made the action within the time limit for filing a lawsuit. The administrative application does not depend on any form. The administrative application stops the time for filing a lawsuit. If the application is explicitly rejected or deemed to have been rejected, the case filing period begins to process again. The application against the decisions of the administration must be submitted within two months.
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