Recent Development
Pursuant to the Union of Turkish Bar Associations (“UTBA“) request, on April 5, 2020, the Ministry of Justice announced that lawyers can now access documents in the investigation files for which they are registered as counsels through the online judiciary system. Lawyers previously only had physical access to these files. In addition, as stated in the Ministry of Justice’s letter to the UTBA dated March 10, 2020, in order to facilitate access to justice, the Ministry of Justice is currently working on increasing the types of transactions that can be made through the online judiciary system.
How to Access Investigation Files?
Lawyers must send a request to examine the investigation file through the online judiciary system for the investigation files for which they are registered as counsels. Upon the relevant public prosecutor’s approval of the request, the counsel will be able to access the relevant document through the online judiciary system. If the prosecutor dismisses the counsel’s request to access, they will have access to the prosecutor’s reasoned decision for dismissal through the online judiciary system.
Ongoing Works
In addition, the Ministry of Justice states that it is currently working to enable counsels to submit their objections to the non-prosecution decision; the adjournment of filing a lawsuit; and the administrative sanctions for the relevant investigation case files through the online judiciary system.
Conclusion
As of April 5, 2020, lawyers will be able to examine the documents in the investigation files for which they are registered as counsels through the online judiciary system. This development eliminates the delays and problems due to lawyers’ inability to access investigation files through the online judiciary system. In addition, this will slow down the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey, as it reduces unnecessary human presence and contact in courthouses. The Ministry’s ongoing work in terms of the transactions that can be made through the online judiciary system is expected to be completed in the coming days. We think that these developments bring great facility in terms of following the investigation files closely for lawyers. With each development, we witness the positive effect of technology on our judicial system. We expect this effect to increase day by day.
Please refer to https://www.esin.av.tr/coronavirus-desk/ for our client alerts regarding the legal consequences of COVID-19 on other areas.
