High Criminal Court Lawyer

A case heard by the high criminal court (ağır ceza mahkemesi) carries the risk of a long prison sentence at the end of the trial; both the statement given on the first day of the investigation and the content of an objection to pre-trial detention shape the direction of a process that may last for years. As a high criminal court lawyer in Mersin, I provide legal support to suspects and defendants as defence counsel (müdafi) during the investigation and prosecution stages, and to those harmed by an offence as counsel for the victim and complainant (müşteki). High criminal court cases are the part of the criminal law work I describe on the criminal lawyer page that carries the heaviest risk of sanctions.

What Does a High Criminal Court Lawyer Help With?

• Accompanying the suspect as defence counsel during custody and the taking of statements
• Objections to pre-trial detention and judicial control (adli kontrol) decisions, and requests for release
• Examining the indictment and following the trial process
• Preparing the defence and assessing the evidence and the reports of court-appointed experts (bilirkişi)
• Appeals (istinaf) and appeals on points of law (temyiz) against decisions of the trial court
• Complaints, intervention and representation of victims for those harmed by an offence
• Objections to decisions of non-prosecution (kovuşturmaya yer olmadığına dair karar)

Which Cases Does the High Criminal Court Hear?

Apart from cases specifically indicated by law, the high criminal court hears cases and matters concerning offences that carry aggravated life imprisonment, life imprisonment or imprisonment of more than ten years. In addition, the law has placed certain offences directly within the jurisdiction of the high criminal court even though their upper limit does not exceed ten years; robbery (yağma) and aggravated fraud (nitelikli dolandırıcılık) are well-known examples. The high criminal court works as a panel, and hearings are held with a presiding judge and two member judges.

In practice, the cases most frequently seen in the high criminal court include intentional killing and attempted killing, intentional injury resulting in death, robbery, aggravated sexual assault and sexual abuse of children, manufacturing of and trafficking in narcotic drugs, and aggravated fraud. Some offences on the same subject may be heard by the criminal court of first instance (asliye ceza mahkemesi) and others by the high criminal court. For example, the distinction between possession of drugs for personal use and an allegation of intent to deal also changes which court will hear the case; on this point you can refer to the drug offences page. For the difference between simple fraud and aggravated fraud, the fraud offences page provides guidance.

Mandatory Defence Counsel

Under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CMK), in investigations and prosecutions concerning offences carrying a minimum sentence of more than five years’ imprisonment, if the suspect or defendant has no defence counsel, defence counsel is appointed by the bar association without any request being required. The same rule applies if the suspect or defendant is a child, or is disabled to the extent of being unable to conduct their own defence, or is deaf and mute. Since not every offence within the jurisdiction of the high criminal court has a minimum sentence above five years, the mandatory defence counsel rule and the jurisdiction of the high criminal court do not always overlap.

In cases outside mandatory defence, if the suspect or defendant declares that they are not in a position to choose defence counsel, defence counsel is appointed by the bar association at their request. The suspect or defendant may also work with a lawyer of their own choice if they wish; defence counsel may join the case at any stage.

Custody, Pre-Trial Detention and Objections to Detention

During the taking of a statement, the suspect has the right to learn of the offence they are accused of, to consult defence counsel and to remain silent. The right to consult defence counsel is guaranteed both in custody and in pre-trial detention; as a rule, the law provides that these consultations take place in an environment where others cannot hear them and that correspondence with defence counsel is not monitored.

A detention order (tutuklama) requires concrete evidence showing strong suspicion that the offence has been committed and the existence of a ground for detention, such as a suspicion of flight or of tampering with evidence. The law also requires detention to be proportionate to the importance of the case and the expected sanction; if judicial control measures would be sufficient, detention should not be ordered. During the investigation stage, the detention order is issued by the criminal judgeship of peace (sulh ceza hâkimliği).

An objection to a detention order can be filed within seven days from the date of learning of the decision. The detained person may also request release at any time. During the investigation stage, continued detention is reviewed at intervals of no more than thirty days; during the prosecution stage, the court assesses detention at each hearing and also between hearings without exceeding this period. An effective objection relies on setting out, with reasons, the evidence in the file, the grounds for detention and the person’s specific situation.

The Indictment and the Trial Process

At the end of the investigation, if the public prosecutor (Cumhuriyet savcısı) finds sufficient suspicion to bring a public prosecution, they draw up an indictment (iddianame); if not, they issue a decision of non-prosecution. After the indictment is submitted to the court, the court examines it within fifteen days; if it finds it incomplete or flawed, it returns it to the prosecutor’s office. The prosecution stage begins with the acceptance of the indictment, and the suspect now becomes a defendant.

At the hearing, the identity of the defendant is established, the indictment is read, the defendant is questioned and the evidence is discussed item by item. Hearing witnesses, assessing the reports of court-appointed experts and ruling on the parties’ requests usually extend over more than one hearing. Once the discussion of the evidence is complete, the prosecutor presents their opinion on the merits (esas hakkında mütalaa), the defendant and defence counsel present their defence on the merits, and the defendant is given the last word.

Preparing the Defence

In a high criminal court case, the defence is not limited to a general denial of the accusation. First, the entire investigation file is examined: statement records, search and seizure records, communication interception records, camera footage and the reports of court-appointed experts are compared with each other. Defence counsel may examine the file during the investigation stage; if this would endanger the purpose of the investigation, access to the file may be restricted, but the suspect’s statement, the court-appointed experts’ reports and the records of procedures at which the suspect has the right to be present fall outside the scope of this restriction.

When preparing the defence, the legal characterisation of the events is also addressed separately. Differences in characterisation, such as an allegation of attempted intentional killing being assessed as intentional injury, an allegation of dealing as possession for personal use, or an aggravated form as the basic form, directly affect both the competent court and the sanction to be applied. Issues such as self-defence (meşru savunma), unjust provocation (haksız tahrik) or whether intent existed are also assessed at this stage together with the evidence.

Evidence and Court-Appointed Expert Examination

In criminal proceedings, an offence can be proved by any evidence obtained lawfully; evidence obtained by unlawful methods cannot form the basis of a judgment. For this reason, how a piece of evidence was obtained is as important as its presence in the file. A search carried out without a proper decision or order, a seizure record not kept in accordance with procedure, or a statement taken without the suspect being reminded of the right to defence counsel becomes a matter of dispute in assessing the evidence.

In high criminal court cases, forensic medicine reports, ballistic and DNA examinations, drug analyses, examinations of digital material and financial reports by court-appointed experts are often decisive. Objections can be raised against the reports and additional reports requested; the parties may also obtain a scientific opinion (bilimsel mütalaa) on the events in question from a qualified professional in the relevant field and submit it to the file. Methodological errors and incomplete examinations in a court-appointed expert’s report only come to light through a detailed reading.

Appeal and Appeal on Points of Law

An appeal (istinaf) against the judgment of the high criminal court can be lodged within two weeks from the pronouncement of the judgment or, if it was pronounced in the defendant’s absence, from its service. The appeal is examined by a criminal chamber of the regional court of appeal (bölge adliye mahkemesi); the chamber examines the file both as to the facts and as to the legal assessment and holds a hearing if necessary. Against decisions of the regional court of appeal, an appeal on points of law (temyiz) to the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay) can be lodged in the cases specified by law, again within two weeks. Setting out every point challenged in the appeal petition together with its reasons directly shapes the higher court’s review.

Representing Victims and Complainants

High criminal court cases are processes in which rights can be lost not only by the defendant but also by the person harmed by the offence. For offences carrying a minimum sentence of more than five years’ imprisonment, the victim can ask the bar association to appoint a lawyer for them. A request to join the public prosecution can be made until judgment is given by the court of first instance; the status of intervening party (katılan) makes it possible to submit evidence and to use legal remedies against decisions.

A decision of non-prosecution by the prosecutor’s office can be challenged before the criminal judgeship of peace within fifteen days of service of the decision. As counsel for the victim, I follow up on the timely collection of evidence, the hearing of witnesses and the reflection of the harm suffered in the case file.

High Criminal Court Cases in Mersin

Investigations into offences allegedly committed in central Mersin are conducted by the Mersin Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office (Cumhuriyet Başsavcılığı), and the resulting cases are heard by the high criminal courts in Mersin. For offences committed in Tarsus, Erdemli, Silifke, Mut, Anamur and other districts, the prosecutor’s office conducting the investigation and the high criminal court that will hear the case are determined according to where the case is heard and the judicial district to which that place belongs. Pre-trial detention and judicial control decisions during the investigation stage are issued by the criminal judgeships of peace.

Meetings with detained clients take place in accordance with the visiting arrangements of the prison where they are held; consultation with defence counsel is guaranteed by law. For suspects and defendants whose families live in another city or abroad, the case can be followed from here by means of a power of attorney (vekâletname). For other areas of criminal law, you can refer to the criminal lawyer in Mersin page.

Frequently Asked Questions