I. INTRODUCTION
The law foreseeing changes within the scope of the 8th Judicial Package was published in today’s Official Gazette.
The Law on Amending the Code of Criminal Procedure and Some Laws,” published in the Official Gazette dated 12 March 2024, with the number 32487, regulates amendments to the deferred judgment of announcement procedure (“HAGB”), amendments to harmonize the deadlines regulated in various laws, updates on monetary limits, and a regulation on the application procedure for delayed trials.
Below, you will find a summary of the proposed changes, updates, and revisions.
II. REVISIONS REGARDING THE POSTPONEMENT OF THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE JUDGMENT METHOD
HAGB was annulled by the Turkish Constitutional Court as contrary to fundamental rights and freedoms. For this reason, it is planned to reorganize the HAGB procedure. In the event that the draft law is enacted, first of all, in order to put an end to the discussions on whether the confiscation procedure can be carried out at the same time in the event of a HAGB decision, it is explicitly regulated that this confiscation is an exception in terms of the judgment not having any consequences.
During the audit, a new judgment on the announcement of the old judgment or other sanctions listed in the article during the audit period for the commission of intentional crimes or failure to comply with obligations related to measures is retained, now the opportunity to object to these decisions is planned to be provided. As a result of the objection, only an examination regarding the specified sanction matters is envisaged.
Another issue is that it is planned to change the previous legal remedy procedure of appeal against the HAGB decision and to provide the possibility to apply to the Court of Appeal. In addition, if the decision is rendered by the Court of Appeal or the Court of Cassation, an application for appeal will also be possible. However, it is regulated that the certainty limits in the appeal application will be taken into consideration in the evaluation of these applications.
Finally, in the current system, it was not possible to issue an HAGB decision without asking the defendant whether they accepted the HAGB decision or not. However, if the draft becomes law, it will now be possible to issue an HAGB decision without considering the defendant’s consent.
III. AMENDMENT OF TIME AND MONETARY LIMITS
Article 37 of the Draft Law will amend the time limits, monetary amounts and application procedures in legislation such as the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law, the Turkish Criminal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Law on Consumer Protection.
The amendments are as in the table below:
|
REGULATION |
FORMER VERSION |
NEW VERSION |
| Law No. 2004 on Enforcement and Bankruptcy | ||
| Duration of appeal and cassation against the bankruptcy decision |
10 Days |
2 Weeks |
| Duration of appeal and cassation against the decision to lift the bankruptcy | 10 Days | 2 Weeks |
| Duration of appeal and cassation against the bankruptcy closure decision. | 10 Days | 2 Weeks |
| Period of appeal against the rejection of the concordat request | 10 Days | 2 Weeks |
| Period of appeal and appeal against the decisions on concordat | 10 Days | 2 Weeks |
| Period of appeal against the extraordinary stay order issued by the Enforcement Court | 10 Days | 2 Weeks |
| Appeal against decisions of restraint and disciplinary detention | 7 days from the date of pronouncement or notification | 2 weeks from the date of notification |
| About the decisions subject to appeal issued by the Enforcement Court | 10 days from the date of pronouncement or notification | 2 weeks from the date of notification |
| Law No. 4675 on Execution Judgeship | ||
| Appeal against the decisions of the Execution Judge | 7 Days | 2 Weeks |
| Turkish Penal Code No. 5237 | ||
| Offsetting a judicial fine | To be counted as one hundred Turkish liras a day | To be counted as five hundred Turkish liras a day |
| Calculation of the prepayment amount for imprisonment | Thirty Turkish lira for each day | One hundred Turkish lira for each day |
| Criminal Procedure Law No. 5271 | ||
| Period for filing a petition for reinstatement | 7 Days | 2 Weeks |
| Appeal against the decision of non-prosecution | 15 Days | 2 Weeks |
| Declaration and defense in simple trial procedure | 15 Days | 2 Weeks |
| Application period for appeal remedy | 7 Days | 2 Weeks |
| Limit of appeal in judicial fines | Three thousand Turkish lira | Fifteen thousand Turkish lira |
| Duration of appeal against the decision rejecting the appeal and cassation application | 7 Days | 2 Weeks |
| Response time to the petition of appeal and cassation | 7 Days | 2 Weeks |
| Supreme Court of Appeals and Chief Public Prosecutor of Appeal period | 30 Days | 1 Month |
| Response period to the objection of the Chief Public Prosecutor of the Appeal | 7 Days | 2 Weeks |
| Request for renewal of the proceedings and response period against the evidence | 7 Days | 2 Weeks |
| Law No. 5326 on Misdemeanors | ||
| Finality limit for administrative fines imposed pursuant to the Law on Misdemeanors | Three thousand Turkish lira | Fifteen thousand Turkish lira |
| Appeal application period | 7 Days | 2 Weeks |
| Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100 | ||
| Procedure of appeal and cassation against the decision on the request for recusal of the judge | 1 week from the date of pronouncement or notification | 2 weeks from the date of notification |
| Duration of appeal against the denial of legal aid | 1 Week | 2 Weeks |
| Duration of appeal against the rejection of the appeal petition | 1 Week | 2 Weeks |
| Procedure for appealing against a decision of opposition to an interim injunction | 1 week from the date of pronouncement or notification | 2 weeks from the date of notification |
| Law No. 6502 on Consumer Protection | ||
| Appeal period against the decision of the Consumer Arbitration Committee | 15 Days | 2 Weeks |
| No. 5252 on the Enforcement and Implementation of the Turkish Penal Code
Law on |
||
| Limit on judicial fines | The lower limit is four hundred and fifty million,
upper limit of one hundred billion Turkish lira |
The lower limit is two thousand five hundred and the upper limit is five hundred thousand Turkish liras |
| Imprisonment Period | One hundred million Turkish Lira for one day | Five hundred Turkish Lira for one day |
| No. 5275 on the Execution of Criminal and Security Measures Law | ||
| Provisional Article 1 | One hundred |
Five hundred |
| Law No. 5320 on the Enforcement and
Law on the Mode of Implementation |
||
| Provisional Article 2 | Three thousand | Fifteen thousand |
| Child Protection Law No. 5395 | ||
| Çocuk teslimi kararına karşı itiraz süresi | 1 week |
2 week |
IV. PROCEDURE FOR APPLYING TO THE COMMISSION REGARDING FAILURE TO CONDUCT A TRIAL IN A REASONABLE TIME
The details of the form and duration of the application process for violation of the right to a fair trial following trials that are not concluded within a reasonable time have been determined. If the draft law is enacted, only applications made within 1 month of the investigation, prosecution, trial processes or within 1 month of learning that they have resulted in a final decision will be examined. In addition, persons who missed the application due to a justifiable excuse will be allowed to apply within 15 days after the disappearance of the reason in question.
The following elements are required to be included in the application and will be rejected if not corrected within one month:
- Clear identity and address information,
- A processing that causes loss,
- The nature and quantity of the damage and the documents showing them.
