New bill aims to ease backlog of cases in courts

Thus, applications that intend to extend litigation processes will now require additional fees, and the act of avoiding conscription is re-interpreted. A person who fails to pay claims for sums less than the minimum wage, i.e., currently TL 619, that are filed under the bankruptcy law will no longer be sentenced to prison.

The bill also amends the law on passports introducing fines to Turkish citizens or foreign nationals who enter or leave Turkey illegally without a passport instead of the jail sentences stipulated in the current version of the law. Similarly, those who leave or enter the country from places other than those specified by the Cabinet will be fined instead of being sentenced to prison. The head of the relevant law enforcement unit will be authorized to issue these fines.

Furthermore, amending the law on forests, the bill introduces fines, instead of imprisonment, to those who illegally cut down trees.

Another amendment of the law on fees will ensure that prosecutors pay no fees for the objections they may raise against the decisions of criminal courts. On the other hand, the bill introduces fees in many instances in an effort to block applications that aim to extend judicial processes. Thus, fees will be paid when appealing decisions of criminal courts. Fees will vary between TL 40 and TL 100.

Notaries will be authorized to conduct transactions concerning the summoning of a spouse who has left their wife or husband to a common residence or issuing a certificate that documents the authority of legal heir(s). Fees will be paid for these transactions.

Arrangements concerning the high judiciary

The scope of cases that the Council of State hears as a court of first instance will be narrowed. Thus, the Council of State will hear only those cases brought against ministries’ regulatory transactions that are implemented across the country instead of all regulatory practices of ministries. The remaining transactions will now be dealt with by administrative and tax courts.

An information technology center will be established for promoting the Council of State’s use of new technologies in the performance of its duties.

Disputes that administrative and tax courts will hear as a court of first instance are also rearranged.

For the Council of State and the Supreme Court of Appeals 91 and 136 new staff positions are created, respectively.

Under the bill, a court may order a person who uses drugs or stimulating agents to receive treatment or place him/her on probation; and similarly, a person who procures, accepts or has drugs or stimulating agents in order to use them may be placed on probation. This decision will stop the litigation process about that person.

Leave for inmates with humanitarian consideration

According to the bill, prison inmates will be allowed to attend funerals of their relatives. Thus, if the parents, spouse or siblings of a prison inmate die, s/he will be allowed to have a leave for up to two days excluding the time spent for travel by the prosecutor during the investigation phase or by the judge or court during the prosecution phase provided that this does not compromise the investigation, prosecution or public security. During this leave, the inmate will be accompanied by a security officer.

The public prosecutor will attend hearings in criminal courts of first instance starting Jan 1, 2016, and the opinion of the prosecutor about attendance will be not requested. However, the case file will be sent to the prosecutor so that s/he may resort to certain remedies against judgments and court decisions about arrest or release of defendants.

The fees the parties have to pay in order to request a hearing during an appeal process are increased from TL 20,000 to TL 50,000.

Turkish embassies will no longer be authorized to cancel the passports of Turkish citizens who live in foreign countries when they are convicted by Turkish courts.

The prosecutor will not attend the hearings of lawsuits launched against the decisions of registry office of marriages that reject marriage applications as well as those cases in which correction of civil register records is requested.

The bill introduces new exceptions for the definition of draft evasion. Still, those who fail to attend the roll call for conscription will be fined TL 250 to TL 3,000.

The bill also introduces fines for first-time evaders ranging between TL 250 and TL 3,000.