Central Authority(ies):
Directorate General for Foreign Relations and EU Affairs
Ministry of Justice
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Contact details: |
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| Address: | Directorate General for Foreign Relations and EU Affairs Ministry of Justice Adalet Bakanlığı Ek Binası Namık Kemal Mah. Milli Müdafaa Caddesi No:22 Kızılay Çankaya / ANKARA Turkey |
| Telephone: | +90 (312) 414 80 51 |
| Fax: | +90 (312) 219 4523 |
| E-mail: | diabgm@adalet.gov.tr |
| General website: | http://diabgm.adalet.gov.tr/ |
| Contact person: | Özgür Karaca Lina Islam |
| Languages spoken by staff: | Turkish, English |
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Practical Information |
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| Blocking statutes: | |
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Chapter I |
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| Transmission of Letters of Requests: | Letters of Request are first sent to the Central Authority of the requesting State before being sent to the Central Authority of the requested State. |
| Authority responsible for informing of the time and place of the execution of Letter of Request (Art. 7): |
Central Authority |
| Presence of judicial personnel at the execution of the Letter of Request (Art. 8): | No declaration. |
| Privileges and duties existing under the law of States other than the State of origin and the State of execution (Art. 11): |
No declaration. |
| Translation requirements Arts 4(2) and 33): |
Letters of request which are to be executed under the Chapter I of the Convention, shall be in Turkish or be accompanied by a Turkish translation in compliance with Article 4, paragraphs 1 and 5. (see declarations). |
| Costs relating to execution of the Letters of Request (Arts 14(2)(3) and 26): |
In accordance with Article 26, the costs are not requested. For the purpose of Article 14 of the Convention, requests for costs are evaluated by our judicial authorities. |
| Time for execution: | Approximately 2-6 months. |
| Pre-trial discovery of documents Art. 23): |
Full exclusion. See declarations. |
| Information about domestic rules on the taking of evidence: | Detailed regulations are available between Articles 187 and 293 of the Code of Civil Procedures. |
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Witness examination under Chapter I |
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| Should Letters of Request include specific questions to be used during witness examination or only a list of matters to be addressed? | It is preferable that the list of questions is sent. |
| Is it a public or private hearing? | Public hearing, unless a judge determines otherwise pursuant to applicable law. |
| Do the judicial authorities "blue-pencil" Letters of Requests (i.e. rephrase, restructure and / or strike out objectionable questions or offensive wording so that a Letter of Request may be executed under the laws of the requested State)? | No. |
| Is the witness provided in advance with a copy of the questions / matters to be addressed as contained in the Letter of Request? | No. However, before the witness is heard, the witness is informed by the judge about the event to be testified. |
| Are documents produced by the witness authenticated by the court? | Yes. |
| Is an oath generally administered to the witness? | Yes. However the ones who are not over 15 when heard and the ones without sensibility so as to comprehend the nature and importance of the oath are heard without oath. |
| Can the witness be made subject to further examination and recall? | Yes, If the court needs, a second Request is necessary. |
| Are there sanctions for non-appearance of witness? | Yes. Article 245 of the Code of Civil Procedure is as follows: “Without prejudice to the provisions prescribed by law, any person who has been subpoenaed to testify is obliged to appear. A witness who, after being subpoenaed according to the regulator procedural rules, fails to appear without notifying the reason of his absence shall be subpoenaed by the use of force and shall be subject to a restitution covering the losses of failing to appear and a disciplinary fine of up to five hundred Turkish Liras. Where a witness who has been subpoenaed by the use of force subsequently submits the reasons justifying his previous absence, the decision on the restitution of losses and the disciplinary fine shall be revoked.” |
| Must interpreters who assist with the witness examination be court-certified? | The interpreters are assigned by the justice commissions of the judiciary of the regional court of justice in the jurisdiction from the list which is drawn up each year. In the event that the interpreter is not available for that expertise are, the interpreter is assigned from the lists of the other regional court of justice, if not available, an interpreter is assigned out of the list. |
| How is the testimony transcribed? | The testimony of the witness is written to the minutes and read before the witness and the minutes is undersigned by the witness, the judge and the clerk. |
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Chapter II |
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| Article 15 | Applicable |
| Article 16 | Applicable |
| Article 17 | Applicable |
| Article 18 | No declaration of applicability |
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Taking of evidence by video-links |
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Chapter I |
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| Are there legal obstacles to the use of video links? | |
| Technology used: | |
| Level of interpretation required: | |
| Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation: | |
| Interpretation required in which jurisdiction? | |
| Who pays for the interpretation? | |
| How would a request for evidence be handled if witness not willing? | |
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Chapter II |
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| Are there legal obstacles to the use of video links? | |
| Technology used: | |
| Level of interpretation required: | |
| Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation: | |
| Interpretation required in which jurisdiction? | |
| Who pays for the interpretation? | |
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Other Information |
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| Bilateral or multilateral agreements | Bilateral Agreements: Full list here |
| Useful links: | |
| Competent authorities (Art. 16, 17) | See here. |
| Additional authorities (Art. 24) | |
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