Turkish authorities are working to fasten judicial procedures with what they call a “skip” system that would scale down the appeals period, Turkish media reported Monday.
Any ruling for major crimes with at least five-year prison sentences would be brought directly to the Supreme Court of Appeals (Yargıtay) without needing a decision from an appeals court.
In the current system, rulings for crimes with an upper limit of five-year sentences are finalized in the appeals court. These cannot be brought to the Supreme Court excepting a few out-of-scope crimes. Supreme Court only admits appeals for crimes with over five-year sentences, which prolongs the trial process.
The regulation is meant to scale down this waiting time for crimes such as manslaughter, drug abuse, violence against and abuse of children and women, as well as qualified theft, by allowing direct appeals to the Supreme Court.
The movie is part of the fourth legal reform launched by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) last year, which aims to finalize appeals applications in six months at most.
Authorities said the reforms include increasing the number of courts and judges in line with the workload and ensuring reconciliation to expedite judicial procedures. They also plan to expand the scope of disagreements that can be resolved via settlement without going to trial.
In cases with prejudicial questions, hearings will be adjourned until the main dispute causing the delay is resolved.
In first-degree trials, the procedure for taking on files will be rearranged to prevent the right to trial within a reasonable period.
Erdoğan introduced Türkiye’s fourth legal reform strategy document last month, which acts as a roadmap for the four years from 2025 to 2029.
“The new strategy document will ensure an effective, fast-functioning and accessible justice system is built based on the rule of law,” he said.
The fourth judicial reform document outlines five primary principles, including the strengthening of the corporate structure and the human resources capacity, restructuring of processes, increasing the effectiveness of the penal justice system and the legal and administrative trial processes and making access to justice easier.
In total, the document branches out to 45 targets and 264 activities.
Standards on expression, freedom of the press, personal liberty and security will be increased. New specialization courts will be set up to tackle cases relating to the environment, health care, insurance, traffic and workplace accidents.
Türkiye unveiled the first of its legal reform strategy documents in 2009, followed by a second in 2015 and a third in 2019.
Among many others, the measures include the establishment of new courthouses for personal data protection authorities and the human rights and quality institution of Türkiye, an increase in the number of courts working with a single judge, and the implementation of artificial intelligence applications in judicial systems.
