In the Turkish legal system, decisions rendered by the Court of Cassation, which is the appellate court prior to the Constitutional Court, are considered final if they do not constitute a violation that would necessitate an appeal to the Constitutional Court. However, an appeal process is available against the decisions of the Criminal Chambers of the Court of Cassation. If the appeal to the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation is accepted, the relevant criminal case file is returned to the Criminal Chamber. If the Criminal Chambers of the Court of Cassation reject the appeal, the case file will be forwarded to the General Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation, a higher body.
According to Article 308 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Chief Public Prosecutor of the Court of Cassation has the authority to appeal these decisions, either on his own initiative or upon request, from the date the judgment is delivered to him. Following the appeal, the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation will examine the appeal as soon as possible and, if it finds the appeal justified, will proceed with correcting the decision. Otherwise, the appeal will be rejected.
How to Appeal a Court of Cassation Affirmation Decision?
After the Supreme Court Criminal Chamber approves the decision, the sentence becomes final and the execution of the sentence begins. In this context, for prison sentences exceeding 3 years, an arrest warrant is issued against the person subjected to the criminal sanction without informing the party, and law enforcement takes action. During this process, the defendant’s lawyer requests an appeal from the Supreme Court Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office to halt the execution of the sentence. For this appeal to be considered by the Supreme Court Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, it is necessary to review the case file again, drawing attention to aspects written or forgotten in previous appeals, or aspects that the Supreme Court did not emphasize in its previous appeals.
Time Limit for Appeals Against Supreme Court Decisions
This appeal, to be made by the Supreme Court Chief Public Prosecutor, must be made within 30 days following the date of the Criminal Chamber’s decision to the Chief Public Prosecutor. However, there is no time limit for appeals made in favor of the defendant.