The Regulation on Implementation of Administrative and Clerkship Services in Regional Courts of Justice, Judicial Courts of First Instance and Chief Public Prosecutors' Office ("Regulation") has entered into effect. It was published in the Official Gazette on 6 August 2015 by the Ministry of Justice ("Ministry"), entering into effect the same day.

The Regulation outlines procedures and principles for administrative actions, as well as judicial and clerkship services for:

  • Regional courts of justice: Including the Presidency, Board and Chambers, as well as the Chief Public Prosecutor's office and Justice Commission.
  • Judicial courts of first instance: Including the judiciary, Chief Public Prosecutor's office and Justice Commission.

The Regulation outlines the procedures and principles regarding:

  • Which records and files to keep.
  • Administrative actions to make.
  • Execution of clerkship services.
  • Implementation of the UYAP Information System (the national judicial information system).
  • Application of Civil Procedure Law numbered 6100.

Significant Provisions introduced by the Regulation include:

  • During simplified proceedings, complaint and reply petitions can either be submitted as physical copies or by completing the complaint and reply petition forms which can be found on the UYAP Information System (Article 198 of the Regulation).
  • A secure electronic signature is required to electronically submit complaint and reply petition forms. Otherwise, these forms must be completed electronically, then a physical copy must be printed and signed by hand.
  • Provided the parties consent, the court can allow parties or their attorneys to attend hearings and take procedural actions from another location via SEGBIS (an audio and video information system) or a similar system which transmits audio and video (Article 218 of the Regulation).
  • The court can allow a witness, expert witness, expert or party to be in another location when they are heard by the court, provided the parties consent. Audio and visual of the hearing must be simultaneously transmitted to the hearing room via SEGBIS, or a similar system.
  • If the party who will take an oath resides somewhere besides where the courthouse is located, the oath can be taken via SEGBIS, or a similar system.
  • All related persons who were present at a hearing must sign the minutes indicating the hearing has been held. The minutes can either be written electronically on the UYAP Information System (then signed via secure electronic signature) or written by hand if writing the minutes electronically is not possible (then physically signed). The minutes must include:

    • Names and surnames of the persons who were heard.
    • Names and surnames of people who were present.
    • The hearing's start and end time.
    • Hearing duration.
    • Evidence submitted during the hearing.
  • Electronic minutes must be signed with secure electronic signatures and sent to the related authority via the UYAP Information System. Physical minutes must be scanned and then signed with a secure electronic signature, before being sent to the related authority via the UYAP Information System. Originals of the minutes must be kept on the premises.
  • If the statements of parties who attended the hearing via SEGBIS or a similar system must be signed, the minutes must be printed and signed by the related parties. The signed minutes must be uploaded to the electronic environment. The originals of the signed minutes must be sent to the related court.

Please see this link for full text of the Regulation (only available in Turkish).

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.