04.12.2025 07:15
The first 15 articles of the 11th Judicial Package, which includes the Covid regulation that will pave the way for the release of 55,000 prisoners, have been approved by the Justice Commission of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM). With this proposal, amendments will be made to the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law, the Public Procurement Law, and the Attorneyship Law, while the prosecution of the crime of "fraud" will be conducted in criminal courts of first instance. Additionally, changes will be made to the "Mental Illness" provision of the Turkish Penal Code.
In the Justice Commission of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the first 15 articles of the draft law known to the public as the 11th Judicial Package, which includes regulations regarding the early release of convicts from closed prisons to open prisons and from open prisons to supervised release three years earlier for crimes committed on July 31, 2023, and before, were accepted.
AMENDMENTS TO THE ENFORCEMENT AND BANKRUPTCY LAW
According to the accepted articles, the draft includes amendments to the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law. If those who fail to fulfill the obligation to pay proportional fees and guarantees request the annulment of the auction, the court will reject the request for annulment definitively and based on the file. In cases where the guarantee or the fee to be paid is not deposited or is deposited insufficiently, the court will notify in the notice that the guarantee or fee must be completed within a definitive period of two weeks, otherwise, the request for annulment of the auction will be definitively rejected based on the file. If the guarantee or fee is not completed within the specified time, the court will immediately reject the request for annulment of the auction.
According to the regulation made in line with the Constitutional Court's annulment decision, all donations and gratuitous transactions made within one year prior to the date of issuance of a temporary or definitive insolvency certificate or the seizure report that has the nature of an insolvency certificate are subject to annulment, except for customary gifts. Transactions between direct descendants and ancestors, relatives up to the third degree, spouses even if the marriage union has ended within the last year, and relatives by marriage up to the third degree will be considered donations unless it is proven that the transactions made between them are in accordance with their real value.
Unless proven otherwise, contracts in which the debtor accepted a price significantly lower than the real value of what he provided at the time the contract was made, as well as contracts in which the debtor established a lifelong income contract or usufruct right for himself or a third party, or contracts for care until death, will be considered donations unless it is proven that a suitable counterpart was provided. In the application of the monetary limits in the provisions titled "Appeal and examination" and "Review and examination" of the same Law, the amount on the date the complaint application was made or the lawsuit was filed will be taken as the basis.
DISCIPLINARY PUNISHMENTS FOR LAWYERS
The draft includes amendments to the Law on the Legal Profession. Accordingly, if a decision is made to open a final investigation against lawyers due to crimes committed during their duties or arising from their duties in the Turkish Bar Association or the organs of the bar associations, this situation and the final decisions given during the trial stages will be reported to the bar association where the lawyer is registered. Lawyers will be subjected to one of the disciplinary punishments specified in the Law on the Legal Profession, depending on the nature of the violation and the severity of the act, if their actions and behaviors do not comply with the respect and trust required by the sanctity of the right to defense or the obligations of care and accuracy.
Disciplinary punishments to be imposed on lawyers are being reorganized in line with the annulment decision of the Constitutional Court. The disciplinary punishments applicable to lawyers are determined as "warning," "reprimand," "monetary fine," "dismissal," and "disbarment." The circumstances under which which punishments will be imposed are listed. If a lawyer who has been given any disciplinary punishment commits a new act requiring disciplinary punishment within 5 years from the date this punishment becomes final, the heavier disciplinary punishment foreseen for this act will be applied. If a lawyer commits an act requiring dismissal within 5 years from the date the warning punishment becomes final, the upper limit of the dismissal punishment will be applied instead of the disbarment punishment.
A lawyer who receives a dismissal punishment will be disbarred if they commit at least an act requiring a reprimand within 5 years from the date this punishment becomes final. Except for cases requiring disbarment, a lawyer who commits an act requiring a first disciplinary punishment may be subjected to a punishment one degree lighter than the one to be imposed. This provision will also apply to those who have passed 5 years since the finalization of a disciplinary punishment against them. Since the disciplinary punishments to be imposed on lawyers and the actions requiring these punishments are detailed, some disciplinary regulations in the Law on the Legal Profession are being removed. If the Bar Disciplinary Board decides to wait for the outcome of the prosecution, the authority to impose a penalty will expire one year after the notification of the finalized court decision to the relevant bar.
If a lawsuit is filed against the administrative action established as a result of a disciplinary investigation or prosecution, the statute of limitations will be interrupted. A new investigation or prosecution will be conducted within a maximum of 2 years from the notification of the court's decision regarding the annulment of the administrative action to the relevant bar or the Turkish Bar Association, based on the outcome of the investigation or prosecution. No disciplinary punishment can be imposed after 2 years from the date the court decision reaches the relevant bar or the Turkish Bar Association. Lawyers who receive a disciplinary punishment other than disbarment can apply to the disciplinary board after 5 years from the imposition of the warning, reprimand, monetary fine, and dismissal punishments, requesting the removal of these disciplinary punishments from their records. Dismissal punishments imposed with recidivism will be excluded from this provision.
AMENDMENTS TO THE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT LAW
Amendments are being made to the Public Procurement Law to fill the legal gap created by the annulment decision of the Constitutional Court. According to the amendment made to the provision regarding the revenues of the Public Procurement Authority, the refund of the application fee for complaints will be decided based on the portion corresponding to the validity rate determined according to the claims made in the application petition. However, if the application is rejected by the Authority in accordance with the relevant provision or if the examination regarding the principle of equal treatment results in the annulment of the tender or the determination of corrective action, the application fee will not be refunded. If multiple issues are included under the same claim in the application petition, these issues will be evaluated separately by the Authority. Within 30 days following the notification of the board's decision to the applicant, the refund will be made by the Authority within 30 days following the date of this request in writing by the applicant. No interest will accrue on this refunded amount.
In cases where lawsuits are filed against the decisions of the Board taken upon objections to complaint applications or in cases of termination of the contract under the "Force Majeure" article of the Public Procurement Contracts Law, it will be decided to refund the amount collected under the "natural disasters" provision to the contractor, corresponding to the portion of the initial contract amount that has not been completed, by the decision of the Board. For the refund to be made, the contractor must apply to the administration with a refund request within 30 days following the notification of the completion of the termination and liquidation processes. Within 30 days following the application, the necessary information and documents, including the portion of the initial contract amount that has not been completed, will be sent to the Institution by the administration. The refund will be made by the Institution within 30 days following the date the information and documents are recorded in the Institution's records. No interest will accrue on the amount refunded by the Institution. This provision will come into effect on December 26, 2025.
THE TRIAL OF THE CRIME OF "FRAUD" WILL NOW BE IN CRIMINAL COURTS OF FIRST INSTANCE
With the amendment to the Law on the Establishment, Duties, and Authorities of the Judicial Courts of First Instance and Regional Courts of Appeal, it is aimed to prevent jurisdictional disputes arising from the prosecution of the crimes of "fraud" and "qualified fraud" regulated in the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) in different courts. Accordingly, the trial of the crime of "fraud" will be conducted in criminal courts of first instance. In cases that are ongoing in heavy penal courts at the date this provision comes into force, or in files under review in the appellate or cassation legal process regarding "qualified fraud" crimes, no decision of lack of jurisdiction or annulment will be made on the grounds that the jurisdiction of the court dealing with these crimes has changed with the Law that establishes this regulation. These cases will continue to be examined according to the rules of the previous jurisdiction until a final judgment is reached.
REGULATIONS MADE IN THE TCK
With the amendment to the "Mental Illness" provision of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), it is aimed to implement both the execution of the sentence and the security measures specific to the mentally ill for partially mentally ill individuals who are accepted to have criminal responsibility in the legal system. Accordingly, a security measure specific to the mentally ill will also be imposed on the person in question. The duration that mentally ill individuals will spend in a healthcare institution for treatment and protection will not be less than one year for crimes requiring aggravated life imprisonment and life imprisonment, and not less than six months for crimes requiring a prison sentence of more than ten years.
DISCUSSIONS WILL CONTINUE AT 18:00
After the acceptance of the first 15 articles of the proposal, the Commission Chairman and AK Party Istanbul Deputy Cüneyt Yüksel announced that discussions would continue at 18:00.