Country of origin information report Turkey March 2007

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10.11 As noted by the Turkish Daily News on 2 June 2005:
“According to an article included in the law that outlines the implementation process of the new TCK [the new Turkish penal code which came into force on 1 June 2005], all cases waiting at the Supreme Court of Appeals will be inspected as to whether the new TCK will benefit the individuals involved and if it does, the cases will be returned to the local courts. According to this article, 150,000 of the 175,000 cases at the Supreme Court of Appeals will be returned to local courts. These cases, in addition to the normal workload, are expected to swamp local courts.” [23ab]
10.12 The EC 2006 report recorded that:
“As far as computerisation is concerned, the National Judicial Network Project continued to progress and became operational in more courts and prisons. The major court houses and all judges and prosecutors now dispose of laptops and Internet access. Trials will be run on the National Judicial Network and case-law will also be available on line. The network will connect electronically the judiciary with all government institutions. Since the entering into force of the new Code of Criminal Procedure, prosecutors have started to use greater discretion to discontinue unmeritorious cases, while many cases are reported where judges returned indictments which were not based on sufficient evidence. The system of plea bargaining was recently introduced by the new Code of Criminal Procedure. A commission has been set up by the Ministry of Justice in an attempt to improve the system.” [71a] (p59)
The Court System
10.13 As recorded by the Turkish Embassy website 2004:
“According to the Turkish law today, the power of the judiciary is exercised by Judicial (Criminal), and Administrative Military Courts. These Courts render their verdicts in the first instance, and the superior courts examine the verdict for the last and final ruling. The superior courts are: the Constitutional Court, the Court of Appeals, the Council of State, the Military Tribunal of Appeals, the Supreme Military Administrative Court, the Court of Jurisdictional Dispute, the Court of Accounts and the Supreme Council of Judges and Public Prosecutors.” [111] (The Court System)
Courts
10.14 The same website also noted that, “The courts in Turkey are in fact divided into courts of justice, administrative courts, military courts and the Constitutional Court. Except the Constitutional Court, they are further divided into lower and higher courts.” [111] (The Court System)