reviewed by the Court of Cassation. Except for this situation,
in all cases, appeal must be requested by one of the parties.
In case the appeal is not submitted to the Court within the
designated time limit, the right to appeal is exhausted. The
Public Prosecutor may also appeal the case in favour of or
against the accused.
I did not appeal, but the other party did. What will be the
results of his appeal for me?
If the decision has been quashed in favour of the accused
and if it is possible to apply it also for the other accused
people, you can benefit from this reversal of decision as if
you made an application for appeal. But it does not mean
this reversal will be valid for you automatically. If there is
no possibility to apply it also for you, the decision becomes
final decision on behalf of you, but it is quashed for the
others who appealed the decision.
What is the petition submitted to delay the time limit?
Since the 7-day-time limit for appeal starts when the decision
is pronounced in criminal cases, a petition is submitted to
the Court in order to delay the termination of this time limit
until the reasoned decision is written. This petition includes
your request of appeal and you state you will submit your
reasons for appeal in writing after the reasoned decision.
Therefore, when you want to submit such a petition, you
should write clearly that you request appeal. The same
procedure is applied in labour cases, but it is not applicable
for civil cases.
ATTENTION!
This brochure is prepared to inform you about the
Turkish justice system and your rights in general. The
text has been simplified for facilitating comprehension
and legal terms were avoided when possible. Thus, you
may suffer loss of rights if you act based solely on the
information herein. It would be useful to benefit from the
help of a legal professional once you better know your
rights.
Please read the whole brochure for acquiring accurate
and complete information.
Is a hearing conducted for appeal?
As a rule, appeal stage is carried out over case files without
a hearing. But in some circumstances, upon the request of
the parties or when required by the higher court, a hearing
may be conducted. In criminal cases, only the accused (and
his lawyer) is called for the appeal hearing. The detainee has
no right to attend to the hearing conducted in the Court of
Cassation. If you want your appeal process carried out with
a hearing, you need to state it in your appeal petition.
Joint Project on Strengthening the Court Management System
This project is co-funded by the European Union, the Republic of Turkey and
the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe. The Central
Finance and Contracts Unit is the Contracting Authority of this Project.
My trial
is over,
deciMy trial is over,
decision has
been rendered,
has the process
ended?
My trial is over, decision has been rendered, has the process ended?
My trial is over, decision has been rendered, has the process
ended?
All judicial activities are the result of complicated processes
which need great attention. The legal system, being aware
of the fact that mistakes may be done in this complicated
process, has established a judicial control mechanism in
order to check consistency of the decisions with the Law
by means of an another court. In this regard, objections
or appeals may be submitted to the First Instance Courts
or Higher Courts depending on the nature of the decisions
rendered by the Court. The trial process is completed when
the final decision is rendered.
What is a final decision?
A decision becomes final when all judicial remedies are
exhausted. The law does not grant the right to judicial
remedies for very simple matters. Apart from these
exceptions, judicial remedies have been introduced for all
decisions in order to ensure a second review. In case this
right is not used within the certain time limit or dismissed
after the review by the relevant court, the decision becomes
final.
What is a verdict?
The judgments of the Courts are sent to the parties in
writing. All judgments include a stamp and signature. This
letter is called “verdict”. In the final part of the verdict, it is
stated whether the decision is final as well as the time limit
and authority you can appeal to. The decision becomes final
only when the parties do not appeal in the designated time
limit.
How is a decision made final?
In order to make an appeal in civil courts, the decision should
be notified to the parties firstly. Following the reasoned
decision and payment of the fee, the decision is notified to
the parties and time limit for appeal starts . On the other
hand, in labour and criminal courts the time limit starts as
soon as the parties learn the decision. If the decision is read
aloud in the courtroom, time limit starts immediately, if not
notification date is the start of the said time limit. There is no
need to take an extra action in these courts.
How will you know a decision is final or not?
You can ask to the registry of the court which renders
the decision if the decision is final or not. If there is no
application for appeal or the application has been dismissed,
the court registry will put an explanation on the decision.
This explanation is an annotation which shows the decision
is final.
What is an appeal?
Appeal means judicial review of a decision once again by a
higher court. In regular courts, higher court is the Court of
Cassation and in administrative, it is the Council of State.
Some decisions of the administrative courts and tax courts
may be appealed before the regional administrative courts.
How is an appeal requested?
A petition is submitted to the Court within the designated
time limit to start the appeal process.
How is an appeal petition drafted?
The reason you make an appeal against the decision must
be shown in the petition. You have to explain why you want
the decision to be quashed. You need to put in detail and
give number to the contradictions which you think to have
occurred during the trial. The petition should include one
extra copy apart from the total number of parties.
What is the focus of an appeal stage?
Aim of the appeal is to control if there has been any
contradiction with the Law during the trial.
What is the time limit for appeal?
This time limit may change depending on the type of courts:
It is 7 days beginning from notification or pronouncement
in criminal courts,
15 days beginning from notification in civil courts of first
instance (Family, Commercial and Consumer Courts),
8 days beginning from notification in civil courts of peace,
10 days beginning from notification or pronouncement in
civil courts of enforcement,
8 days beginning from notification or pronouncement in
labour courts,
30 days beginning from notification in administrative and
tax courts.
As seen above, time limit for appeal may start when the
judge pronounces the decision or when the notification is
made depending on the type of the court. If the decision
is rendered in the absence of the party who has a right
to appeal, the time limit starts when this party is notified
in writing. In case no petition is submitted within the
designated time limit, it means you renounce your right to
appeal.
What happens as a result of the appeal?
The Court of Cassation/Council of State reviews the decision
rendered by the first instance court; if a contradiction is
detected, the decision is quashed and sent back to the first
instance court to be heard once again. In case the Court of
Cassation/Council of State does not find any violation of law,
the decision is upheld and becomes final.
Would my penalty get heavier if I go for an appeal?
No. The opinion that the penalty would get severer if a
person appeals to the Court of Cassation and his/her appeal
is dismissed, has no legal grounds. The Court of Cassation
does not impose heavier penalties against the party who
uses his right to appeal. In case the decision has been
quashed based on the appeal of the accused person only,
the penalty to be rendered after re-trial cannot be heavier
than the first one. However, it should be noted that also
the intervener (victim and the person who intervenes to the
trial) and the Public Prosecution Office have right to appeal.
In case one of these parties submits an appeal, the decision
may be quashed against the accused person.
Is a decision appealed automatically?
No. An application is needed to appeal a case. There is
an exception to this rule. The decisions which impose
imprisonment of 15 years and more is automatically