31.12.2007 - Source: UK Home Office

Military Courts ("Country of Origin Information Report; Turkey") [ID 24664]

"Military Criminal Courts (Askeri Ceza Mahkernesi)

10.11 The TESEV 2005 report further noted that:

"There is no definition in the Military Penal Code (Askerî Ceza Kanunu, ACK) as to what constitutes a military crime. Crimes committed by civilians in concert with military personnel are considered military crimes, which constitutes the grounds for their trial in military courts and causes them to be separated from their natural judges...(p52)In other words, military crimes should be those crimes committed by military personnel and related to military duty and service alone. These must be defined as those acts that directly affect military discipline and infringe upon military service and duty." [98b](p53)

10.12 As recorded in ‘Political Structure of Turkey’ November 2005:

"The Supreme Military Court of Appeals is the court of final instance for all rulings and verdicts rendered by military courts. It is also a court of first and final instance with jurisdiction over certain military personnel, stipulated by law, with responsibility for any specific trials of these persons. The Supreme Military Administrative Court has jurisdiction over military personnel in administrative or active military service. The Court of Jurisdictional Conflicts is the final authority to settle disputes concerning the verdicts of the Justice, Administrative or Military Courts. This court is made up of members of the Court of Appeals, the Council of State, the Supreme Military Court of Appeals, and the Military Administrative Court of Appeals. Military Courts have jurisdiction to try military personnel for military offenses, for offenses committed by them against other military personnel or crimes committed in military places, or for offenses connected with military service and duties." [36g] (Section on Judiciary)

10.13 The European Commission Turkey 2006 Progress Report recorded that “There has been progress concerning the competence of military courts to try civilians. Under the law amending the relevant provisions of the Military Criminal Code as adopted in June 2006, no civilian will be tried in military courts in peacetime unless military personnel and civilians commit an offence together. The new law also introduces the right of retrial in military courts." [71a] (p7)

The Military Criminal Court of Cassation (Askeri Yargitay)

10.14 As noted by the Turkish Embassy website 2004, “According to the law, this court functions as the court of appeal of all decisions and judgments given by Military courts. It is divided into five chambers." [74] (The Court System)"

Document(s): Open document

27.03.2007 - Source: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Military courts can only try civilians if they are involved in crimes committed together with military personnel ("Human Rights in the OSCE Region: Europe, Central Asia and North America, Report 2007 (Events of 2006)") [ID 19386]

"In a positive development, amendments to the military penal code adopted in June restricted the competence of military courts to try civilians unless they are involved in crimes committed together with military personnel. The amendments also allowed for retrials by military courts in cases where the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) finds a breach of the European Convention in relation to a trial before such courts."

Document(s): Open document