Criminal Law
The Turkish Legal Office provides consultancy and advocacy services in criminal law to clients in multiple languages including English, Dutch, German. Our services include:
- Representation during police and prosecutor statement taking
- Evidence collection in criminal cases
- Defense against false accusations
- Filing criminal complaints
- Preparation of complaint and defense petitions
- Evidence presentation in Turkish Criminal Courts.
Below are some criminal cases we have experience with:
- Intentional injury
- Drug offenses
- Threatening behavior
- Insulting language
- Property damage
- Invasion of privacy
- Theft
- Fraud
- Breach of trust
The General Principles of the Turkish Criminal Procedural Law
Right to a Fair Trial
In a criminal trial, you have the right to: be presumed innocent until proven guilty; be informed promptly of the charges against you; remain silent; have sufficient time to prepare your defense; receive legal aid if you cannot afford a lawyer, if necessary for a fair trial; attend your trial; access all relevant evidence; present your case at trial; cross-examine the prosecution’s witnesses and call your own witnesses; and have an interpreter if needed.
Presumption of Innocence
The principle of the presumption of innocence requires the prosecution to prove the charge and ensures that a person cannot be considered guilty until the charge has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Prohibition of the Use of Unlawfully Obtained Evidence
This legal rule, based on constitutional law, prohibits the use of evidence collected or analyzed in violation of the defendant’s constitutional rights in a court of law.
Judicial Independence
Judicial independence means that judges must be able to exercise their judicial powers without interference from litigants, the state, the media, or powerful individuals or organizations, such as corporations.
Principle of Retroactive Inapplicability
According to this principle, a person cannot be punished or subjected to a security measure for an act that was not considered an offence under the law in effect at the time it was committed. They also cannot be punished or subjected to a security measure for an act that was not considered an offence under a law enacted after the act was committed. This principle is applied without consideration of whether it benefits the person or not.
Territoriality Principle
According to this principle, Turkish law applies to offences committed in Turkey. This territorial jurisdiction stems from the state’s sovereignty and the power used to maintain the domestic legal order and criminal justice system is limited to its territory.
The Criminal Procedure in Turkey
The Criminal Procedure in Turkey resembles the German and Dutch Criminal Procedures. In Turkey, there is no jury system in criminal trials. The Criminal Trial Process in Turkey has two stages: the criminal investigation stage and the prosecution stage.
The Criminal Investigation Phase is the stage where evidence against a suspect or suspects is collected and investigated. This stage is carried out by the prosecutor, who may also summon the suspects to testify. After gathering all the evidence, the prosecutor will make a decision, either filing an indictment or declining to prosecute the suspect with a non-prosecution decision. The first option leads to the second stage, the prosecution stage.
The Prosecution Phase in Turkish Criminal Court proceedings starts with the acceptance of the indictment by the court. Once this stage begins, the investigation prosecutor loses authority, which is now transferred to the court. If the court determines it has jurisdiction, evidence is collected during this phase. The evidence may come from the court’s own investigation or from the defence’s request. The Prosecution Phase consists of the pre-trial preparation, the trial itself, and the verdict. The final decision is referred to as the judgment and can result in acquittal, conviction, no punishment required, case dismissal, or case rejection. The court’s decision can be appealed. For more information, see our article on Criminal Procedure in Turkey.
One of the most important reasons to hire a criminal defence attorney is that they have a thorough understanding of how the Turkish judicial system operates in practice. The Turkish legal system can be complex and difficult to comprehend, so it is advisable to retain an experienced criminal lawyer who is familiar with the practices and procedures of the Turkish court system. The Turkish Legal Office offers consultancy and advocacy services to clients facing criminal complaints, prosecution, investigation, and other criminal cases and represents them in criminal court.
Contact us today for a free consultation.