AK Party Deputy Group Chairman Muhammet Emin Akbaşoğlu announced that the draft law, known publicly as the 12th Judicial Reform Package and prepared under the 4th Judicial Reform Strategy Document announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has been submitted to the Presidency of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.
At a press conference held at the parliament with Ankara MP Murat Alparslan and Istanbul MP Nurettin Alan, Akbaşoğlu stated that the Draft Law on Amending Certain Laws for the Effective and Efficient Functioning of the Judiciary consists of 30 articles.
Stating that the effective exercise of the freedom to seek justice is among the most unshakable building blocks of a strong state, Akbaşoğlu emphasized that they have sustained their reform will since 2002.
Akbaşoğlu conveyed that with the 4th Judicial Reform Strategy Document announced by President Erdoğan, the Turkey Century Justice Century Vision was declared, and noted that the draft aims for trials to be completed within a reasonable time and for trust in the judiciary to be raised to the highest level.
Akbaşoğlu said that to enable citizens to reach their receivables with less difficulty, it will become mandatory to make a written application to the administration and provide an account number before initiating enforcement proceedings. Announcing that a regulation will be made regarding priority sale among heirs, Akbaşoğlu stated: We are eliminating abuses in lawsuits for the removal of partnership by sale.
We are stipulating that the first auction for immovable properties transferred through inheritance be conducted among the heirs who are owners. We are taking an important step to prevent delays in administrative judiciary trials and to reduce the workload of courts: We are expanding the scope of cases to be resolved by a single judge in administrative courts.
Certain disputes concerning students and public officials will now be swiftly concluded by a single judge. We are explicitly linking the referral to expert witnesses in matters that can be resolved with the legal knowledge required by the judiciary and prosecution professions to a disciplinary sanction.
THE PROBLEM OF PROLONGED LAWSUITS WILL BE SOLVEDAkbaşoğlu expressed that new regulations will be introduced to solve the problem of files shuttling between courts due to procedural reasons, prolonging lawsuits in the administrative judiciary.
Akbaşoğlu stated that it will be stipulated that the Court of Cassation cannot issue reversal decisions solely on grounds of lack of jurisdiction or authority regarding the decisions of first-instance courts, and that the lawsuit for an indefinite receivable will be abolished, adding: We are introducing a new regulation that the period between hearings cannot, as a rule, exceed 3 months.
We are expanding the scope of participation in hearings via audio and video transmission, and we propose that preliminary examination hearings also be conducted via audio and video transmission.
AK Party Deputy Group Chairman Muhammet Emin Akbaşoğlu's speech was as follows: Dear colleagues, under the heading of removal of partnership and priority sale among heirs, our fellow MPs are indeed putting their signature to a very important regulation. Again, to protect property rights and family bonds, we are eliminating abuses experienced in practice in lawsuits for the removal of partnership by sale.
In the sale of immovable properties transferred through inheritance, we are stipulating that the first auction be conducted only among the heirs who are owners. Thus, we are enabling family heirloom properties to remain primarily among the heirs at 100% of the appraised value of the property.
NEW REGULATION IN NOTARIAL PROCEDURESDear members of the press, to reduce bureaucracy and to benefit from the possibilities of digitalization in the judicial field at the highest level, we are introducing a great convenience in notarial procedures.
We are regulating that when the originals of notarial documents and registers are requested by a court or chief public prosecutor's office, notaries will keep a true copy on site and send the original to the relevant authority, and when a certified copy is requested, they will scan the document in electronic medium and send it to the relevant authority within seconds with a secure electronic signature.
By not collecting any tax, fee, or stamp duty from these transactions, we relieve the parties of financial burden, enabling procedures to accelerate and the judiciary to reach a conclusion more quickly. THE SCOPE OF CASES TO BE DECIDED BY A SINGLE JUDGE HAS EXPANDEDAt the same time, dear colleagues, we are taking an important step to prevent delays in administrative judiciary trials and to reduce the workload of courts.
We are expanding the scope of cases to be resolved by a single judge in administrative courts. For 2026, annulment and full jurisdiction lawsuits not exceeding 486,000 Turkish liras in subject matter, as well as certain disputes concerning students and public officials, will now be swiftly concluded by a single judge. Another regulation of ours takes an important step in the administrative judiciary to reinforce the freedom to seek justice.
With the regulation we will make, dear colleagues, we are introducing a new regulation to solve the problem of files shuttling between courts due to procedural reasons, prolonging lawsuits in the administrative judiciary. We are enabling regional administrative courts, if the outcome of the first-instance court's decision is in compliance with the law, to quickly end the dispute by correcting the reasoning instead of quashing the decision solely due to an error in reasoning.
Furthermore, by clearly and explicitly re-regulating the appeal path to the Council of State against decisions made by regional administrative courts on the merits for the first time, we continue to protect our citizens' guarantee of seeking justice on this matter.
REGULATION IN THE FORENSIC MEDICINE INSTITUTIONWe have a regulation concerning the Forensic Medicine Institute. Here, we are strengthening the institution's scientific and administrative capacity in light of the principle of certainty.
We are clarifying by law the requirement of a specialization in medicine or dentistry or a doctoral degree in the field for appointment to the presidency and membership of the specialization boards, and it is stipulated that the terms of office for group presidencies and specialization department presidencies for these duties are limited to 4 years.
By indeed implementing a very important principle through legal regulation on this matter, we are explicitly linking the referral to expert witnesses in matters that can be resolved with the legal knowledge required by the judiciary and prosecution professions to a disciplinary sanction.
Since the authority for legal qualification belongs exclusively to judges and prosecutors, and since the institution of expert witnesses should be limited only to areas requiring technical and special expertise, with such a regulation we prevent the prolongation of cases that should be concluded quickly with legal knowledge by our judges and prosecutors by being sent to expert witnesses, and with this regulation we bind the sensitivity of our judges and prosecutors on this matter to a principle through the relevant regulations.
NEW APPLICATION FOR PERSONS UNDER GUARDIANSHIPDear colleagues, we will also submit an important regulation, especially concerning persons under guardianship, to the esteemed parliament's consideration with this proposal of ours.
We are introducing the possibility for the sale of movable and immovable properties belonging to our citizens under guardianship to be conducted via the UYAP integrated electronic sales portal, so that they can be sold in a fully competitive environment and at the highest value.
