The investigation phase in Turkish criminal procedure is the first formal stage of the criminal process and one of the most decisive. Under the Code of Criminal Procedure, the “investigation” begins when the competent authorities learn of a suspicion of crime and continues until the indictment is accepted; once the indictment is accepted, the prosecution […]
A criminal investigation in Turkey does not begin only when someone is arrested or when a prosecutor files an indictment. Under Turkish criminal procedure, the investigation phase starts much earlier, at the moment the public prosecutor learns of a fact pattern that creates the impression a crime may have been committed. That early threshold matters […]
Confession evidence in Turkish criminal law occupies a powerful but carefully limited place. A confession can strongly influence the course of an investigation, the decision to prosecute, the framing of the indictment, and the final outcome of the trial. Yet Turkish law does not treat a confession as a magical shortcut to guilt. Instead, it […]
Digital evidence and mobile phone examinations in Turkey have become one of the most important issues in modern criminal procedure because a single device can contain messages, photographs, account information, application data, contact networks, location traces, business records, and intensely private communications. In Turkish criminal law, that makes a phone examination more than a technical […]
Unlawful evidence in Turkish criminal cases is not a marginal procedural issue. It goes to the core of whether the State may investigate and punish within the rule of law. In Türkiye, the question is not only whether the prosecution has obtained incriminating material, but whether that material was gathered, preserved, introduced, and relied on […]
Search and seizure procedures in Turkish criminal law sit at the heart of criminal investigation because they give the State direct access to a person’s body, home, workplace, papers, property, correspondence, and digital data. For that reason, Turkish law does not treat search and seizure as ordinary police conveniences. It places them inside a dense […]
Judicial control measures in Turkish criminal proceedings, known in practice as adli kontrol, are one of the most important alternatives to pre-trial detention in Türkiye. They are designed to reduce the need for incarceration while still protecting the aims of criminal procedure, such as securing the suspect’s presence, preventing interference with evidence, and protecting victims […]
Arrest, detention, and custody rules under Turkish law are among the most important safeguards in the Turkish criminal justice system because they regulate the precise moment when the coercive power of the State directly affects personal liberty. In Türkiye, a criminal file often takes shape long before trial. The legality of the first apprehension, the […]
Police questioning and legal rights in Türkiye sit at the center of criminal procedure because the first hours of a criminal investigation often shape the entire case. In practice, what happens at the police station can influence detention, the evidentiary record, the prosecution’s theory, and even the eventual judgment. Turkish law therefore does not treat […]
The role of a criminal defense lawyer in Turkey is far broader than appearing in court and arguing for acquittal. In the Turkish legal system, a defense lawyer is one of the key institutional safeguards that stand between the individual and the coercive power of the State. A criminal file in Türkiye does not begin […]