State Security Court (Turkey)

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State Security Courts ( tr .: Devlet Güvenlik Mahkemeleri , DGM) were Turkish "specialized courts" which were responsible for criminal acts that were committed against the existence of the state territory and people , against the free democratic basic order or against the republican form of government and which concerned the security of the state , were responsible.

According to Art. 143 IV old version of the Turkish constitution, the revision instance was the Court of Cassation .

founding

The establishment of state security courts , which were to be founded using the example of the French Cour de sûreté de l'État , was initiated for the first time by amending the constitution at that time by means of constitutional amendment law No. 1699 of March 15, 1973 . Then, on June 26, 1973, Law No. 1773 on the Establishment of State Security Courts came into force. May 6, 1975 the stated Constitutional Court , however, the law no. 1773 null and void. After that, no new law was passed.

The plan to establish such courts was taken up again after the military coup of 1980 .

Article 143 I of the Constitution read as follows:

" Devletin ülkesi ve milletiyle bölünmez bütünlüğü, hür democracy düzen ve nitelikleri Anayasada belirtilen Cumhuriyet aleyhine işlenen ve doğrudan doğruya Devletin iç ve dış güvenliğini ilgilendirenclair güvenliğini ilgilendiren suğeler. "

“State security courts are established with the task of negotiating crimes which are committed against the indivisible unity of state territory and people, the free democratic order and the republic, the characteristics of which are determined by the constitution, and which affect the internal and external security of the state . "

On this basis, on June 16, 1983, Law No. 2845 on the Establishment and Judicial Procedure of State Security Courts came into force. The law was one of the transitional laws that were not accessible to constitutional review. According to this law, State Security Courts have been established in Ankara , Diyarbakır , Erzincan , Istanbul , İzmir , Kayseri , Konya and Malatya . The courts began operating on April 1, 1984. With Art. 1 of Law No. 4210 of November 13, 1996 , the DGMs in Erzincan, Kayseri and Konya were dissolved and DGMs in Adana , Erzurum and Van were established in their place .

Districts

The judicial districts were regulated in Article 2 of Act No. 2845 on the Establishment and Judicial Procedure of State Security Courts.

The following table provides information about the respective districts:

Court seat Provinces
Adana Adana , Aksaray , Gaziantep , Hatay , İçel , Karaman , Kilis , Konya , Niğde , Osmaniye
Ankara Ankara , Afyon , Amasya , Bartın , Bolu , Çankırı , Çorum , Eskişehir , Karabük , Kastamonu , Kayseri , Kırıkkale , Kırşehir , Kütahya , Nevşehir , Samsun , Sinop , Tokat , Yozgat , Zonguldak
Diyarbakır Diyarbakır , Batman , Bingöl , Mardin , Siirt , Şırnak , Şanlıurfa
Erzurum Erzurum , Ağrı , Ardahan , Artvin , Bayburt , Erzincan , Giresun , Gümüşhane , Iğdır , Kars , Ordu , Rize , Sivas , Trabzon
Istanbul Istanbul , Balıkesir , Bilecik , Bursa , Çanakkale , Edirne , Kırklareli , Kocaeli , Sakarya , Tekirdağ , Yalova
İzmir İzmir , Antalya , Aydın , Burdur , Denizli , Isparta , Manisa , Muğla , Uşak
Malatya Malatya , Adıyaman , Elazığ , Kahramanmaraş , Tunceli
Van Van , Bitlis , Hakkari , Mus

Today's Düzce Province , founded on December 9, 1999 as the 81st Province, is not included in the list. This is due to the fact that Article 2 of Law No. 2845 was last amended on November 13, 1996. The State Security Court in Ankara was responsible for what is now the province, formerly a district of the Bolu Province.

organization

According to Art. 143 II old version of the Turkish Constitution, the State Security Courts had a chairman, two full members, a substitute member as well as a public prosecutor general and sufficient public prosecutors .

The appointment and term of office of the members were regulated in Art. 143 III of the Turkish Constitution as follows:

“ Başkan, iki asıl ve bir yedek üye ile Cumhuriyet başsavcısı, birinci sınıfa ayrılmış hâkim ve Cumhuriyet savcıları arasından; Cumhuriyet savcıları ise, diğer Cumhuriyet savcıları arasından Hâkimler ve Savcılar Yüksek Kurulunca özel kanununda gösterilen usule brat dört yıl için atanırlar; süresi bitenler yeniden atanabilirler. "

“The chairman, two full members and the substitute member, as well as the attorney general, will be made up of the judges and prosecutors of the Republic of First Class; appointed by the High Council of Judges and Public Prosecutors from among the Public Prosecutors of the Republic for four years in accordance with the procedures provided for in the special laws ; those whose term of office has ended can be reappointed. "

Originally, a state security court also included a military judge. Following a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights , it was replaced by a civil judge (Law No. 4388 of June 18, 1999, Law No. 4390 of June 22, 1999 amending Law No. 2845).

Jurisdiction

The competences of the courts are based on Article 9 of Act No. 2845 on the Establishment and Judicial Procedure of State Security Courts .

As a result, the courts were responsible for criminal offenses:

  • according to Articles 125 to 139, 146 to 157, 161, 168, 169, 171, 172, 174, 312 II, 499 II of the Turkish Penal Code,
  • within the meaning of Act No. 6136 on Firearms, Knives and Other Devices and according to the common offenses described in Articles 264 and 403 of the Turkish Criminal Code and
  • regarding the causing of the state of emergency under Article 120 of the Turkish Constitution.

If there was a state of emergency , the state security courts performed the tasks of criminal courts for the administration of the state of emergency. These had previously been purely military courts.

abolition

On May 7, 2004, the state security courts were abolished as part of constitutional amendments. Corresponding changes to the Turkish Code of Criminal Procedure ( Ceza Muhakemeleri Usulü Kanunu , CMUK) followed on June 16, 2004 through Act No. 5190 on Amending the Code of Criminal Procedure and Abolishing the State Security Courts . Article 3 of this Act, which came into force on June 30, 2004, repealed Act No. 2845 on the Establishment and Judicial Procedure of State Security Courts and incorporated the provisions on substantive jurisdiction into the Code of Criminal Procedure. Article 1 of the law stipulates that judges and prosecutors of the State Security Courts may continue to serve in the newly appointed courts and may not be transferred to any other post for three years unless there are disciplinary reasons and legitimate excuses or demands.

The chambers of the State Security Courts, which exist in eight of the 81 provinces of Turkey but are responsible for the whole of Turkey, were numerically appended to the large criminal chambers at the respective location. The judicial districts correspond to those of the state security courts . Düzce Province is part of the judicial district of the 11th Chamber of the Grand Criminal Chamber in Ankara. The following applies to the province of Tunceli: in principle, the court in Malatya has jurisdiction. Only the district of Pülümür falls under the jurisdiction of the court in Erzurum. This was also the case with the State Security Courts. The renamed courts judge according to the special rules defined in Articles 250–252 of the new Criminal Procedure Code of June 1, 2005 ( Ceza Muhakemesi Kanunu = CMK) and are therefore literally named the courts responsible for severe sentences under Article 250 CMK . In addition to Article 250 of the CMK, Act No. 3713 on Combating Terrorism determines which offenses are tried by these special courts.

Some critics argue that the State Security Courts were not abolished, only the name (the sign on Turkey = tabela ) has changed. During the discussions on the new Code of Criminal Procedure, MPs from the CHP had raised the same concerns.

reorganization

After the criticism of the chambers responsible for serious criminal offenses as special courts according to Article 250 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO) did not want to silence (they have meanwhile been called "courts with special powers " (tr: özel yetkili mahkemeler = ÖYM abbreviated)), the Abolition of these courts announced. In the 3rd package for the reform of the judiciary, the most important provisions of Articles 250, 251 and 252 of the Turkish Code of Criminal Procedure were adopted in Article 10 of Law 3713 on Combating Terrorism (also known as the Anti-Terror Law = ATG). Articles 250, 251 and 252 of the Turkish Code of Criminal Procedure were abolished.

Shortly thereafter, the High Council for Judges and Public Prosecutors decided that 13 new courts should be set up in 11 locations in Turkey to deal with the offenses to be negotiated under the ATG. The places included all 8 provincial capitals, where there had previously been state security courts (or special courts). Then there were the places Antalya , Bursa and Samsun . Two new chambers of these courts were set up in Istanbul and Diyarbakir.

The following table provides information about the new distribution of the districts (only the changes are listed):

Court seat Provinces
Antalya Antalya (previously assigned to Izmir), Afyon (previously assigned to Ankara), Burdur (previously assigned to Izmir), Isparta (previously assigned to Izmir), Konya (previously assigned to Adana)
Bursa Bursa, Balıkesir, Bilecik, Çanakkale (all previously assigned to Istanbul), Eskişehir, Kütahya (the 2 provinces were previously assigned to Ankara), Yalova (previously assigned to Istanbul)
Samsun Samsun, Amasya, Çorum (all previously assigned to Ankara), Giresun (previously assigned to Erzurum), Ordu (previously assigned to Erzurum), Sinop (previously assigned to Ankara)

Definitive abolition

Article 1 of Act 6526 added a provisional Article 14 to the Act for Combating Terrorism (the Anti-Terrorism Act = ATG) and Article 19 of this Act repealed Article 10 ATG. The original state security courts (tr: Devet Güvenlik Mahkemesi = DGM) and then renamed special courts (tr: Özel Yetkili Mahkemesi = ÖYM) were abolished. Pending proceedings were handed over to other chambers for serious criminal offenses and the judges and public prosecutors employed in the special courts were transferred to chambers appropriate for them by the High Council of Judges and Public Prosecutors (HSYK) within 10 days . In the case of proceedings that were under revision (i.e. before the Court of Cassation ), the relevant chambers remained responsible. If a judgment was issued, the reason had to be written in 15 days.

References and comments

  1. ↑ Christian Rumpf: The "German-Turkish law" and the language p. 8 f. (PDF)
  2. ↑ Cf. Art. 136 II of the Turkish constitution of 1961, Art. 143 old version of the Turkish constitution of 1982.
  3. ↑ main number: 1974/35; Judgment number: 1975/126.
  4. ↑ a b translation by Christian Rumpf.
  5. ↑ Original text of Act No. 2845 on the Establishment and Procedure of State Security Courts ( Memento of the original of December 14, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Turkish). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.mevzuat.adalet.gov.tr
  6. ^ Judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (Grand Chamber) of June 9, 1998, 41/1997/825/1031 - Incal ./. Turkey -. European Court of Human Rights, June 9, 1998, accessed May 30, 2017 .
  7. ↑ See Art. 9 of Law No. 5170 of May 7, 2004.
  8. ^ Message in Turkish from April 1, 2004 to the districts as well as the judges and prosecutors at the chambers; accessed on December 20, 2008
  9. ↑ So it was set out in Resolution 188 of the High Council for Judges and Prosecutors. Found on December 19, 2008: Archived copy ( memento of the original from January 27, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.pgm.adalet.gov.tr
  10. ↑ In the report on the rule of law of political proceedings in Turkey (January 2006) there is a detailed chapter on the formal abolition of the state security courts. A summary and the possibility to download the entire report can be found here ( Memento from February 26, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
  11. ↑ This includes the law professor Köksal Bayraktar; cited as an opening note in an Amnesty International report ; the entire interview in Turkish . The lawyer Fikret İlkiz has the same opinion. His article in the newspaper Yeni Asya of June 23, 2004 can be found at a collection point for newspaper reports  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. being found. Access to all pages on December 26, 2008@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.tumgazeteler.com  
  12. ↑ See an article in Sabah newspaper on November 30, 2004; Accessed December 16, 2008
  13. ↑ See, for example, an article from July 7, 2012 on a page for employees in the public sector ( memento of the original from January 13, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed July 13, 2012. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.kamupersonel.com
  14. ↑ a b See the topics translated by the DTF in July 2012 , accessed on July 13, 2012
  15. ↑ The entire table and also a map with the judicial districts are attached to a page of the High Council for Judges and Public Prosecutors ( memento of the original from July 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in the form of a PDF file ( memento of the original dated August 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. to find. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.hsyk.gov.tr @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.hsyk.gov.tr
  16. ↑ The law was passed in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) on February 21, 2014. After President Abdullah Gül's approval on March 6, 2014, it was published in the Official Journal on the same day . The Turkish text of the law entitled " TERÖRLE MÜCADELE KANUNU VE CEZA MUHAKEMESİ KANUNU İLE BAZI KANUNLARDA DEĞİŞİKLİK YAPILMASINA DAİR KANUN " ("Amendments to the Act on Combating Terrorism, the Code of Criminal Procedure and some laws") may be a. to be found here ; Accessed April 7, 2014
  17. ↑ See u. a. Özel Yetkili Mahkemeler kaldırılıyor (courts with special powers are repealed) in the daily Sabah on March 6, 2014; Accessed April 7, 2014