Criminal proceedings in Turkey are the process conducted in respect of an act suspected of constituting an offense and consist, under Article 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure No. 5271 (CMK), of the investigation and prosecution stages; a criminal case is the trial held before a court during the prosecution stage. This guide summarizes the main types of cases and proceedings in criminal law by subject group and links to our detailed articles; articles marked "(in Turkish)" are currently available only in Turkish.
Which Stages Do Criminal Proceedings Consist Of?
Criminal proceedings consist of the investigation and prosecution stages. The investigation is the research stage that begins, as a rule, when a public prosecutor learns of a suspicion of an offense; the prosecution is the trial process that begins when the court with subject-matter jurisdiction and venue accepts the indictment.
- What Is an Investigation? Which Decisions Can Be Given at the End of the Investigation Stage? (in Turkish)
- What Is a Criminal Complaint? A Sample Petition for Reporting and Complaining to a Police Station or a Public Prosecutor's Office (in Turkish)
- What Is an Indictment, and What Do the Return or the Acceptance of an Indictment Mean? (in Turkish)
- What Is Prosecution, and What Is a Decision of Non-Prosecution (KYOK) and the Objection against It? (in Turkish)
Which Offenses Are Offenses against Persons?
Offenses against persons are the types of offense regulated in the second book of the Turkish Criminal Code No. 5237 (TCK), entitled Special Provisions, that protect personal interests such as a person's bodily integrity, honor, liberty and private life. Intentional homicide, negligent homicide, intentional injury, deprivation of liberty, threat, insult, violation of the inviolability of the home, violation of the confidentiality of communications and violation of the privacy of private life are among these offenses.
- Intentional Homicide: Elements and Penalty (Articles 81 to 83 of the TCK) (in Turkish)
- Intentional Injury and Its Penalty (Articles 86, 87 and 88 of the TCK) (in Turkish)
- Threat: Elements, Conditions, Practice Rules and Penalty (in Turkish)
- Insult: Elements, Conditions and Penalty, including Insult of the President (Article 125 et seq. of the TCK) (in Turkish)
Which Acts Do Sexual Offenses Cover?
Sexual offenses are regulated in the TCK as sexual assault (Article 102), sexual abuse of children (Article 103), sexual intercourse with a minor (Article 104) and sexual harassment (Article 105). The age of the victim and whether the act has a qualified form matter for the characterization of the offense and for the penalty to be imposed.
- Sexual Assault and Its Penalty (Article 102 of the TCK) (in Turkish)
- Sexual Harassment and Its Penalty (Article 105 of the TCK) (in Turkish)
- Sexual Abuse of Children and Its Penalty (Article 103 of the TCK) (in Turkish)
- Sexual Intercourse with a Minor and Its Penalty (Article 104 of the TCK) (in Turkish)
Which Offenses Are Offenses against Property?
Theft, fraud and damage to property are among the offenses against property. Theft is regulated in Articles 141 to 147 of the TCK, fraud in Article 157 and damage to property in Articles 151 and 152.
- Theft: Elements and Penalty (Articles 141 to 147 of the TCK) (in Turkish)
- Fraud and Its Penalty (in Turkish)
- Damage to Property and Its Penalty (Articles 151 and 152 of the TCK) (in Turkish)
What Is the Offense of Using Narcotics?
Using narcotic or psychotropic substances, buying, accepting or possessing them for use is assessed under Article 191 of the TCK. Whether a person is regarded as a user or a dealer is determined according to the criteria set by the Court of Cassation.
- The Offense of Using Narcotics and Its Penalty (in Turkish)
How Do Freedom of Expression and ECtHR Judgments Matter in Criminal Law?
Disputes concerning freedom of the press and freedom of expression are assessed in the light of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
Is There a Separate Title of Criminal Lawyer?
No. Criminal lawyer or serious crime lawyer are the names used for an attorney who acts as defense counsel and as representative in criminal proceedings; they are not a separate title.
The attorney who acts as defense counsel for the suspect or the accused, or as representative of the victim or of the victim participating in the proceedings, is any attorney registered with a bar association; Article 35 of the Attorneyship Law No. 1136 does not divide the authority to defend and to handle judicial proceedings by area of law. Searches such as "criminal lawyer in Ankara" or "the best criminal lawyer" also do not point to a title but to attorneys who handle criminal cases in Ankara; no institution ranks attorneys.
The answer to the question of what a serious crime lawyer does depends on the subject-matter jurisdiction of the court: under Article 12 of Law No. 5235, the High Criminal Court (Ağır Ceza Mahkemesi) hears the offenses listed in the law, such as aggravated robbery and extortion by a public officer, and offenses requiring aggravated life imprisonment, life imprisonment or imprisonment of more than ten years. A "serious crime lawyer in Ankara" is likewise any attorney who acts as defense counsel before the High Criminal Courts in Ankara; for specific types of offense such as narcotics offenses, there is no separate title of "narcotics lawyer in Ankara" either.
In some cases, defense counsel is mandatory: under Article 150 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, if the suspect or the accused who has no defense counsel is a child, is unable to defend themselves, is deaf or mute, or is subject to an investigation or prosecution for an offense requiring imprisonment of more than five years at its lower limit, defense counsel is appointed without any request. Defense counsel is also appointed upon request where the suspect or the accused states that they are unable to appoint one.
The short answer to questions such as "criminal lawyer fees in Ankara" or "serious crime lawyer fees" is the same: the fee is agreed between the attorney and the client and, under Article 164 of the Attorneyship Law, it cannot be below the Minimum Attorney's Fee Tariff. We also explain the role of a criminal lawyer in proceedings in our article What Does a Criminal Lawyer Do? (in Turkish).
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice.