Turkey's 12th Judicial Package presented to Parliament

The ruling AK Party submitted a 30‑article reform bill, known as the “12th Judicial Package,” to the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM). AK Party Group Deputy Chairman Muhammed Emin Akbaşoğlu presented the draft, which aims to accelerate court procedures and improve access to justice. Key provisions include: • Limiting the interval between hearings in civil and criminal cases to three months, with extensions allowed only for justified reasons. • Expanding the e‑duruşma (electronic hearing) system to cover pre‑trial and ordinary hearings and allowing audio‑visual participation. • Allowing a single judge to resolve administrative disputes whose value does not exceed 486,000 TL and certain student or public‑employee matters. • Abolishing the “uncertain claim” lawsuit and simplifying debt‑collection procedures by requiring a written request to the administration before initiating enforcement. • Introducing electronic notarisation: notaries must keep an original copy on site and transmit certified electronic copies to courts or prosecutors. • Strengthening the Forensic Medicine Institute and restricting expert testimony to technical matters only. • Revising the appellate powers of the Yargıtay so that lower‑court decisions can be overturned only for procedural errors, not for alleged lack of jurisdiction. • Adding a new offence criminalising the unauthorised sharing of banking account information, punishable by imprisonment. The bill does not contain the debated proposals on IBAN‑related fraud, perpetual alimony or gender‑change legislation. After parliamentary debate, the package will be examined by the Justice Committee before a final vote in the plenary session.