The decisions of the Judges and Prosecutors Council (“Council“) on the establishment of new specialized courts were published in the Official Gazette dated 30 November 2021. In this context, the establishment of specialized courts in many fields that require legal expertise has been decided. You may access the decisions online here (in Turkish).
In which fields will specialized courts be established?
The Human Rights Action Plan, which was prepared in order to raise human rights standards, was published in the Official Gazette dated 30 April 2021, and it proposed fundamental changes to administrative, civil and criminal proceedings, and envisaged the establishment of specialized courts. In this regard, it has been decided on the specialization of the following courts;
- Certain criminal courts of peace, regarding applications made against administrative sanction decisions
- Certain civil courts of first instance, in places where a commercial court of first instance is not established or the area of jurisdiction is not connected to the districts where these courts are located, regarding cases falling under the jurisdiction of the commercial court of first instance
- Certain civil courts of first instance, in places where a consumer court is not established or the area of jurisdiction is not connected to the districts where these courts are located, regarding cases falling under the jurisdiction of the consumer court
- Certain civil courts of first instance, regarding disputes stemming from (i) the 2942 numbered Expropriation Code; (ii) prevention of confiscation and collection of costs of immovables and related items, arising from confiscation without expropriation; (iii) price of real estate converted into price as a result of zoning applications and increasing and decreasing of mortgage prices; and (iv) compensation claims claimed within the scope of the Slum Code No. 775
- Certain criminal courts of first instance, in cases to be filed regarding the crimes regulated under Tax Procedure Code No. 213
- Assize courts and criminal courts in places where juvenile assize courts and juvenile courts are not established, regarding lawsuits falling under the jurisdiction of these courts,
- Certain labor courts, regarding cases regulated under the Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining Code No. 6356
- Certain assize courts and criminal courts of first instance, regarding cases related to cybercrimes, financial crimes and crimes regulated under Code No. 6493 on Payment and Securities Settlement Systems, Payment Services and Electronic Currency Institutions
You may access our bulletin dated 1 December 2021 here, which contains detailed information on the specialization of the courts for cybercrimes and financial crimes.
Conclusion
The decision of the Council to establish specialized courts in certain areas that require legal expertise is of great importance in the implementation of the judicial reform and the Human Rights Action Plan. The decisions will be implemented from 15 December 2021.
