Double system of Appeal that wide spread in Continental European System has been enacted by the Parliament. For the new system that is going to be applied after April 1, 2005 new Appeal Courts will be established in seven regions.

These courts being called as First Degree Appellate Courts will be functioning as Courts of Appeals within their authorized regions.

The decrees being acted by the Local Civil Courts will be reexamined by them. According to the new Law the above scrutinized and reevaluated the decrees of the Local Courts and the incidents concerning the case, will be able to render executive decisions.

The ex Courts of Appeals – that is YARGITAY – could only revise the decrees of the Local Courts and send it back to be tried once more. That procedure would approximately cause a delay from six months to one year. Now it is expected that the duration of the trials will have been shortened. In many of the cases the verdicts of the First Degree Appellate Courts will be conclusive not to be appealed again.

However, in some cases whose subject matter and some special cases, the parties will have the right of appealing the First Degree Appellate Courts, in case the verdict of the Court of Appeals is deemed to be contradictory to the Law.

However as in such cases the charges will be quite high and lawyers fees will be higher, as well, it is also expected that the number of the cases being sent to the Court of Appeals will be less than before. Yet, there hasn’t been accepted new criterion for lawyers who will act before the Court of Appeals.

According to the new Law, The Court of Appeals will no longer act as a higher authorities scrutinizing the subject matters and incidents but forming basic principles of Law.
Besides, new Turkish Penal Code was passed by Parliament and it is also going to be enacted after April 1, 2005, as the former one.

According to the new Law, along with the imprisonment and pecuniary penalties the convicts will be punished by compensating the injured parties losses attending educational institutions, being prohibited committing certain actions and profession, being employed in a job beneficiary to the Public, their traffic certificates and permissions to be recovered etc.

By means of the Penal Code new punishments, being committed by high technology, were imposed such as credit card thefts, intervention to the Internet communication, recording personal data. In addition acts against the secrecy of the private life were deemed as crimes.

As for the protection of literary and Industrial Rights, upon the endeavors of professional organizations and ministry of justice, were particularly concentrated in Istanbul where the piracy products brought into the market. There have been held many seminars for the municipalities and the police in this field. Interventions would be made possible for such illegal products without complaints.

Two civil and three Penal Courts were established in Istanbul to act upon the protection of literary and Industrial Rights.

The number of these courts is being increased in other cities.

To guarantee the security of Internet and develop e-trade new electronic signature certificate organizations, being directed by the Electronic Signature let, will come into being, soon.

In addition, some movable properties and real estates being confiscated by state on account of 2001 economical crisis are being sold. In this way, approximately fifteen TV, radio and TV broadcast channels will be probably sold in a short time, on account of the just completed report prepared by a foreign agency.

Especially, we sincerely recommend Real Estate investment in Istanbul for the foreigners, as soon as possible.

There will be a Law, for the new planning and construction of Istanbul – that is particularly attached importance by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.

There will be probably a great increase in the Real Estates prices around Eminonu and Taksim regions as there will be very special architectural dispositions.

We are expecting a certain date to be given to Turkey, in December 2004, for the Admittance Interviews to the European Community, whose report will be announced by the end of this month. In case it’s realized there might be astonishing economical and social developments in Turkey.