In Turkey, laws are classified as falling into different types. The type that applies to any particular law is stated clearly in the law itself.

Criminal laws

Criminal laws are laws that punish certain types of conduct. It is the existence of a punishment (rather than a simple right to compensation) that distinguishes criminal laws from all the other categories of law.

The punishment could be a fine, imprisonment, compulsory public service, loss of civil rights etc. A person found guilty of a criminal offence can be ordered to suffer one or more of these penalties.

Criminal laws usually also give rise to the right of compensation to the victim.

All criminal laws in Turkey are set out in the Turkish Penal Code so any proposed new criminal law is in the form of an amendment to that code.

Commercial laws

Turkey’s commercial law is set out in the Turkish Commercial Code, revised in 2012.

The new law was drafted in response to Turkey’s negotiations for full-membership of the European Union (which required its laws to be harmonized with those of the EU) and its World Trade Organization membership obligations (which required better regulation of competition).

Employment laws

These are set out in the Turkish Labour code. 

A knowledge of employment law will make your life much easier, whether you’re an employer or an employee. Every country’s employment law is different and the employment law in Turkey contains many unusual features.

Turkish law gives you substantial employment protection but be aware: many employers (though fewer each year) try to get around the law by employing you (totally illegally) without a contract and paying you cash in hand.

Probationary period and work contracts in Turkey

Under Turkish law, the employer is entitled to place you on a probationary period of up to two months, during which time he can dismiss you without cause and you can leave without having to give notice.

The employer must give you a written contract setting out, at the very minimum, including your job title, summary of job responsibilities, rate of pay, hours of work, holiday entitlement, reporting manager, notice period and any special or unusual terms.  There is no special format required for this contract.

Restraint of trade

The employer may place a clause in your contract preventing you from working for his competitors for a certain period of time after you leave his employment and within a certain geographical area. The clause must be limited in time (for example, to a period of two years) and regional extent (for example, restricting you taking another job in Istanbul).

Any restraint of trade clauses can only be enforced through the courts and they can only be applied if an employee has important knowledge about the business. For example, it would not normally be reasonable to impose a restraint of trade clause on a waiter or car mechanic but it might be reasonable to have such a clause in a contract with a chef or a manager.

The restriction as to the scope of the restraint – i.e. the range of people that you cannot work for and the geographical area to which it applies – must be reasonable in all the circumstances. Otherwise it will be rejected by a court.

Getting paid in Turkey

In Turkey, almost everybody is paid monthly in arrears and it is rare, except in very senior roles, for there to be any hidden ‘perks’ or benefits such as the company paying for your accommodation, your health insurance or your children’s education.

If you’re working in a casual post it is common to be paid daily at the end of each shift: often in cash.

When they’re talking about their earnings, most Turks talk about their monthly salary and not about their annual salary.

People will often refer to their net monthly income (i.e. after deduction of tax and social security payments) rather than their total (gross) monthly income.

When discussing pay with either your employer or your colleagues, you need to be clear about the basis being used for the calculation. The best is your gross monthly salary as the amount of tax and other deductions from it can vary from person to person.

In some countries, it is customary for an employee to receive 13 or even 14 ‘monthly’ salaries per year, if this is what you’re used to, please note that it does not happen in Turkey. You will receive 12 monthly payments per year

Relocation expenses to Turkey

Except for people being transferred to Turkey by an international company, it is rare for an employer to pay anything towards your relocation expenses.

Taxes and social security in Turkey

As an employee, you will usually have to pay tax and social security payments. The amount of tax depends upon your earnings. 

Social security costs of 12% are deducted from your salary each month.

Holiday entitlement in Turkey

After you have been employed for a minimum of one year (unless more generous terms are agreed in your contract) you are entitled to a minimum of 14 days paid holiday per year.

If you have been employed for five to 15 years, you are entitled to 20 days.

If you have been employed for more than 15 years, you are entitled to 26 days.

In addition, you will be entitled to public holidays. These amount to 14.5 days per year.

Overtime pay

If you work more than 45 hours in the week you must be paid overtime for the excess hours at 150% of your normal rate of pay. This does not apply to highly paid executives.

It is rare (and frowned upon) for senior employees in professional offices to make any claim for overtime pay, even if they might technically be entitled to it.

Weekend break

Any employee who has worked 45 hours in the week is entitled to a continuous weekend break of 24 hours.

Rest breaks

You are entitled to a minimum of one hour for your lunch.

In some industries, it is customary for there to be other allocated breaks, but there is no compulsory schedule of breaks laid down by the general law.

If there are defined breaks, they must be stated in a notice on the premises.

Turkish minimum wage

The gross monthly salary per month must be equal to or higher than the monthly minimum wage in Turkey

For those who do not work full time, there is also a minimum hourly or weekly amount.

Illness

Employees are entitled to time off in the case of illness or injury.

Maternity rights

During pregnancy, a woman cannot be required to work for more than 7.5 hours per day or on a night shift

The woman is entitled to paid leave for attending medical appointments during her pregnancy.

A pregnant woman is entitled to 16 weeks’ paid maternity leave. This is usually taken during the eight weeks before the expected date of delivery and during the eight weeks following the birth.

Nursing leave

For one year following the birth of a child, a woman is entitled to take one-and-a-half hours per day paid leave in order to nurse her child.

You will not be entitled to nursing leave if you’ve chosen to work half-time

Paternity rights

A father is entitled to five days’ paternity leave following the birth of his child.

Parental rights

A parent is entitled to up to ten days’ unpaid leave per year to attend to the needs of their children. These could be, for example, looking after a sick child or taking a child to hospital.

Protection from discrimination

The Turkish Labour Code prohibits employers discriminating on the basis of language, race, religion, gender or political/philosophical views. Failure to comply gives rise to a claim for compensation of up to four months’ salary plus any other claim to which the employee might be entitled.

Protection from harassment

If an employee is subject to harassment, whether sexual or a more general ‘affront to their honour and dignity’, they may demand an immediate end to their employment and receive the full severance payment to which they would be entitled in the case of an unfair dismissal.

Employee responsibilities

The employee has the legal obligation to work diligently and honestly for the employer, to protect the employer’s business secrets and to act in good faith at all times.

Administrative laws

The Turkish judicial system makes a distinction between issues between private individuals or companies and issues in relation to the Government or the State and their various administrative entities.

Disputes between individuals or businesses and governmental bodies are dealt with under a special set of rules and a special court system.

Civil laws

Civil law covers the relationships between people. For these purposes, “people” means both real human beings and companies that have a separate legal identity or personality. Typical areas of civil law are the Law of Obligations (covering contracts and other duties) and the general Civil Law covering Family Law, Personal Law, Property Law, Inheritance Law, etc.

The key characteristic of civil law is that is gives rise to the obligation to compensate the other party if a person does not comply with the requirements of the law. It may also give rise to the power of obtaining a court order forcing somebody to do something they would not otherwise do – or to refrain from doing something they should not be doing.

The Civil Code was introduced in 1926 (replacing the earlier Sharia law that applied during the Ottoman Empire) and was based on the Swiss Civil Code: in turn influenced by the French civil codes. As such, it has a very European feel to it.

Insurance laws

In Turkey, the insurance sector is regulated by different types of laws, primarily the Commercial Code (for insurance contracts), the Insurance Law itself (for corporate, regulatory and operational matters) and the Turkish Obligations Code (for general contract law provisions).

The court system in Turkey

There are two main types of courts in Turkey: criminal and civil.

There are also military courts and state security court, which are not discussed here.

Criminal Courts

The basic criminal courts have a single professional judge. They deal with minor cases. There is one in every city and in every district.

The other criminal courts deal with crimes with a maximum penalty of over ten years’ imprisonment. They have a presiding judge and two other members. They are aided by a public prosecutor.

Civil Courts

The lower civil courts (peace courts or sulh mahkemeleri) also have a single professional judge. There is at least one in every district. It covers all types of cases assigned to it by the Code of Civil Procedure and other laws.

The other civil courts  (asliye hukuk mahkemeleri) of first instance cover all civil cases other than those assigned to the lower civil courts. There is one in every city and district, sometimes divided into several branches dealing with different types of cases, according to the size of the place and its requirements.

The Turkish Penal Code

The Turkish Penal Code regulates most aspects of the criminal law in Turkey. It is quite a lengthy document – extending to well over 100 pages – but short by international standards. The Spanish Código Penal is 189 pages, the French Code Penal, 387.

It deals with both some basic principles and the detailed definitions of the various activities that are declared to be criminal offences in Turkey.

The Code applies both to Turkish citizens (sometimes even in relation to things done in other countries) and to foreigners present in Turkey.

Some of the key general provisions include:

• Nobody should be subject to any penalty for any act which is not clearly declared by law to be a criminal offence.
• Penalties should be proportionate to the gravity of the offence.
• There should be no discrimination on the basis of race, language, religion, nationality, colour, gender, political ideas, etc.
• Ignorance of the law is no defence.
• The law shall apply to all criminal offences committed in Turkey.
• Criminal responsibility is personal. No-one shall be deemed culpable for the conduct of another person.
• No act should be a criminal offence unless it is committed with intent – i.e. knowingly and willingly committing the things specified in the definition of a criminal offence.
• There is a right to proportionate self-defence.
• The age of criminal responsibility starts at 12, but somebody between the age of 12 and 15 can only be convicted if they’re capable of appreciating the meaning and consequences of what they did. However, although they cannot be prosecuted, various ‘security measures’ can be applied to minors who have committed criminal offences. These are defined in the relevant statute creating the offence.
• An act carried out by a person suffering from a mental disorder which means they cannot understand the meaning and consequence of the act will not count as a criminal offence.
• A person who, because of the effects of drink or drugs, taken involuntarily, is unable to understand the meaning or consequences of their actions, shall not be subject to penalty.
• Attempts to commit criminal offences shall be punished.
• If two or more people jointly commit an offence they shall all be guilty of the offence.
• Foreigners who commit offences in Turkey may, at the discretion of the Ministry of the Interior, be deported either immediately after their conviction or upon completing any sentence in Turkey.
• A person who assists another person in the commission of an offence shall be guilty of the offence and maybe sentenced (generally) to half of what would otherwise be the penalty for that offence.

Another one that most will find a bit surprising:

Where non-citizens commit an offence to the detriment of Turkey in a foreign country – something that would be an offence under Turkish law, and subject to a penalty of more than one year of imprisonment – and the non-citizen then goes to Turkey, he will be subject to penalties under Turkish law.

The offences to which this rule applies are limited and defined in the code, but they include things such as hijacking, dealing with counterfeit money, dealing with drugs and other serious matters.

• Turkish law permits, in most cases, extradition for offences committed outside Turkey; but this power is limited in respect of offences committed by Turkish citizens.
• Penalties shall not be imposed upon legal entities (e.g. companies).

Penalties for crime in Turkey

Offences may be punished by either imprisonment or by a fine, depending upon the provisions of the law creating the offence.

Assault

Between one and three years’ imprisonment. However, if the injury is minor and can be cured by simple medical treatment the sentence may be reduced to between four months and one year, or replaced by a fine.

If the person injured is a member of your family, or disabled, or acting as a public official, or is injured by the use of a weapon, the penalty shall be increased by 50%.

Dangerous Driving

The minimum penalty differs depending on the type of the dangerous action. Maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment.

Driving – under the influence of alcohol

Driving whilst drunk (rather than merely over the breath-test limit) is a criminal offence, and you will be subject to a criminal case with a maximum penalty of imprisonment for two years.

Penalty include driving ban ranging from 6 months to five years + fine, amount if depended on the number of offences

Possession of Drugs 

Turkey takes a tough line on drugs.

Possession of class A drugs (heroin, cocaine etc) carries a minimum penalty of two years in prison and a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Dealing Drugs

This offence carries a minimum penalty of 1,000 days in prison, and a maximum of 20,000 days.

Fraud

Between one and five years’ imprisonment, and a fine of up to 1,000 days.

Murder (intentional killing)

Imprisonment for life

Reckless killing

Imprisonment for between two and six years or, if more than one person has been killed, a period of between two and fifteen years.

Theft

Between one and three years’ imprisonment. If the offence is committed during the night, the penalty is increased by half.

Rape

No less than 12 years’ imprisonment.

Sexual assault

Between two and five years’ imprisonment.

Other crimes that maybe a surprise to most include:

• Causing insult
• Insulting the memory of a person
• Insulting the Turkish state
• Abuse of trust
• Causing an atomic explosion!

Types of criminal court in Turkey

There are three types of criminal court.

• The Settlement Criminal Judge /Police Judge (Sulh Ceza Hakimliği)
• The General Criminal Court (Asliye Ceza Mahkemesi)
• The Court for Serious Crimes (Ağır Ceza Mahkemesi)

Appeals

Whichever court your case is tried in, you will have the right of appeal.

Arrest by the police

The police have the power to arrest any person who they believe to have committed any criminal offence. They may detain a person only if the offence is serious, or if there is a risk of further trouble, or to protect the person concerned.

If you are arrested, you will be taken to a police station.

For offences potentially punishable by a period of imprisonment, the police have the right to detain the person for a maximum period of 24 hours (or longer in serious cases, such as cases involving organised crime), during which they will take from the person a formal statement in which they answer the specific allegations made against them.

The actual length of time for which you are detained will be determined by the prosecutor (who is the independent person in charge of the investigation and the conduct of criminal cases).

The person detained is not legally required to answer any questions. Generally, a lawyer will be present when they are interviewed and, indeed, a lawyer must be present if their statement is to be admissible in court.

If the person detained does not speak adequate Turkish, an official interpreter must be present when they answer these questions.

If the person does not know a lawyer or cannot pay for one, a lawyer will be provided for them at public expense. However, if it later turns out that they have the means to pay for a lawyer, they will be required to reimburse this cost.

It is important to note that, at this stage, the lawyer is not there to defend the suspect. He or she is there to make sure that the police follow the proper procedure, that the arrested person’s constitutional rights are respected and that the allegations made are clear and properly presented.

As a consequence, the lawyer will not normally discuss the case with the detained person prior to them making their statement – though, in an increasing number of cases, this is done as it can speed up the whole process to everybody’s advantage.

Bail (release from custody pending trial)

Once you have given your statement to the police, the prosecutor may decide to release you on the basis that there is clearly no case for you to answer or they will refer your case to the Court.

You will make an initial appearance before that court. That will normally be within 24 hours of your arrest.

At that initial appearance, the court will establish your identity and ask you to confirm or deny the initial statement made to the police.

During this appearance, you must be accompanied by a lawyer.

After this brief appearance, the Court will decide whether there is at least the basis of a case to answer or whether you should be released without any charges.

If there is a case to answer, they will decide whether you should be given bail (released from custody pending the investigation of the case) or kept in custody.

This decision can be appealed by either the prosecutor or the suspect.

The grounds upon which you can be refused bail are that:

• You are dangerous
• You may run away (as an alternative to refusing bail, the court may put a note on the system and classify you as forbidden to go abroad)
• There is a risk of further offences or trouble (for example, an ongoing blood feud)
• There is real evidence of your guilt
• The crime is punished by a long period of imprisonment
• It is not obligatory for you to be represented by a lawyer at this hearing but it is very wise for you to be represented. If the Court decides to keep you in custody, you could be there for a very long time pending your trial.

A criminal trial in Turkey

The investigation phase

The prosecutor is under a legal obligation to act fairly and to respect the suspect’s rights.

The decision to prosecute

The suspect will receive one of two written court orders:

• There is no, or insufficient, evidence of the accused committing any criminal offence and so the file should be closed, the case discontinued and the suspect released.
• There is evidence that a criminal offence has been committed by the suspect and the case should proceed to trial at the Criminal Court.

The trial

Once the case is referred to the relevant criminal court, the trial phase will commence.

May 28, 2023

Penal Code of Turkey

https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdffile=CDL-REF(2016)011-e

VOLUME I:  GENERAL PROVISIONS

Chapter I:  Basic Principles, Definitions & Jurisdiction

Part 01:  Basic Principles &  Definitions

Part 02:  Jurisdiction

Chapter II:  Principles of Criminal Responsibility

Part 01:  Individuality of Criminal Responsibility, Intent and Recklessness 

Part 02:  Reasons for Setting Aside or Reducing Criminal Liability

Part 03:  Criminal Attempt

Part 04:  Jointly Committed Offences

Part 05:  Aggregation of Offences

Chapter III:  Sanctions

Part 01:  Penalties

Part 02:  Security Measures

Part 03:  Determination and Individualisation of Penalties

Part 04:  Discontinuance of Proceedings and Setting Aside the Sentence

VOLUME II:  SPECIAL PROVISIONS

Chapter I:  International Offences

Part 01:  Genocide and Offences against Humanity

Part 02:  Migrant Smuggling and Human Trafficking

Chapter II:  Offences Against the Person

Part 01:  Offences against Life

Part 02:  Offences Against Physical Integrity

Part 03:  Torture and Torment

Part 04:  Breach of the Duties of Protection, Observation, Assistance and Notification

Part 05:  Illegal Abortion, Miscarriage and Sterilization

Part 06:  Offences against Sexual Integrity

Part 07:  Offences against Liberty

Part 08:  Offences against Dignity

Part 09:  Offences against Privacy & Confidentiality

Part 10:  Offences against Property

Chapter III:  Offences Against the Public

Part 01:  Offences Creating General Danger

Part 02:  Offences Against the Environment

Part 03:  Offences Against Public Health

Part 04:  Offences Against Public Confidence

Part 05:  Offences against Public Peace

Part 06:  Offences Against Transport Vehicles or Stationary Platforms

Part 07:  Offences Against Public Morals

Part 08:  Offences Against the Family Order

Part 09:  Offences Against the Economy, Industry and Trade

Part 10:  Offences Related to Data Processing Systems

Chapter IV:  Offences against Nation and State and Final Provisions

Part 01:  Offences Against the Reliability and Functioning of the Public Administration

Part 02:  Offences Against The Judicial Bodies or Court

Part 03:  Offences against the Symbols of State Sovereignty and the Reputation of its Organs

Part 04:  Offences against State Security

Part 05:  Offences against the Constitutional Order and its Functioning

Part 06:  Offences against National defence

Part 07:  Offences Against State Confidentiality and Espionage

Part 08:  Offences Against Relations With Foreign Countries

Part 09:  Final Provisions

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