Turkey · Courts
Court structure of Turkey
Every tier of the judiciary, what it hears, and where an appeal goes next.
The hierarchy, top to bottom
- Constitutional — Constitutional Court
- Fifteen members; abstract, concrete and individual-application jurisdiction.
- Final appellate (civil and criminal) — Court of Cassation (Yargıtay)
- Chambers plus grand chambers for unification of precedent.
- Final appellate (administrative) — Council of State (Danıştay)
- Apex of the separate administrative hierarchy.
- Appellate — Regional Courts of Justice and Regional Administrative Courts
- Intermediate appeal introduced in 2016.
- First instance — Civil, criminal, commercial, labour, family and administrative courts
- Specialised first-instance benches by subject matter.
Every court in the hierarchy
- constitutionalAnkaraConstitutional Court of TurkeyAbstract and concrete review of the constitutionality of statutes and presidential decrees, individual application alleging violation of rights protected by the Constitution and the European Convention, dissolution of political parties, and trial of senior officials.
- supremeAnkaraCourt of Cassation of TurkeyFinal review of judgments of the civil and criminal courts, and ensuring uniform application of law through its assemblies.
- supremeAnkaraCouncil of State of TurkeyFinal review in administrative matters, first-instance jurisdiction over presidential decrees and certain regulations, and advisory opinions on draft legislation.
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