Legal Services
Legal services provided by Attorney Tolga Ersoy's law office in Istanbul.
The primary legal services offered by our Law Office encompass all stages of litigation in the fields of criminal law, civil law, and administrative law. We meticulously monitor all judicial phases, from pre-litigation to the finalization of the judgment. Each case file is assessed for its substantive and procedural aspects, and all legal avenues beneficial to the client are diligently pursued. In instances where ordinary legal remedies have been exhausted, we manage individual applications to the Constitutional Court and, following the exhaustion of domestic remedies, individual applications to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Case files are prepared in detail and closely monitored in accordance with their specific characteristics regarding admissibility and merits.
Services provided to natural and legal persons vary according to the applicants' needs and status. While services for natural persons primarily cover disputes arising from criminal law and private law relations, services for legal entities such as companies, foundations, and associations include both the resolution of legal issues stemming from their commercial activities and the establishment of legal regulations pertaining to their internal operations. All pre-litigation and litigation processes are managed, alongside the drafting, review, and risk analysis of contracts to which corporate clients are party.
Beyond applications to ordinary and extraordinary legal remedies included in our legal services, administrative applications are made to institutions such as the Ombudsman Institution, the Human Rights and Equality Institution of Turkey, the Competition Authority, and the Personal Data Protection Authority (KVKK), depending on the nature of the matter, to ensure the follow-up of the legal process.
Criminal Litigation
Within the framework of Turkish Criminal Law, when an allegation arises that an act constituting a crime has been committed, that act must be defined as a crime in the statutes. A preliminary investigation file is first opened by the Public Prosecutor's Office within the judicial district where the alleged crime occurred. The investigation is the initial and most crucial stage of criminal procedure; its purpose is to ascertain whether a crime has been committed and, if there is sufficient suspicion, to proceed with the initiation of a public prosecution.
During the investigation phase, evidence is collected, statements from parties and witnesses are taken, CCTV footage is examined, expert reports are obtained, and, if necessary, protective measures such as detention or arrest may be applied to the suspect. If sufficient suspicion is determined, the Public Prosecutor prepares an Indictment and submits it to the competent court, thereby initiating the prosecution phase.
The Court of First Instance (Criminal) has jurisdiction over less severe offenses, while the High Criminal Court is competent for more serious crimes with significant impact on public order. In criminal cases, the rights of victims are protected in their capacity as counsel for the complainant (plaintiff/intervenor), and the right to defense is effectively exercised in the capacity of counsel for the suspect/defendant. The process is meticulously followed through the appeal and cassation stages.
Civil Litigation
Civil litigation concerns the judicial resolution of disputes arising in the field of private law between individuals and legal entities. This area, which is of great importance for the protection of the personal rights and interests of the parties, covers a wide range of matters:
- Family Law: Divorce proceedings, alimony claims, child custody arrangements, and liquidation of matrimonial property regimes.
- Inheritance Law: Determination of estate assets, reduction actions, and actions for cancellation and registration of title deeds based on fraudulent disposition by the deceased.
- Real Estate Law: Cancellation and registration of title deeds, dissolution of co-ownership (partition actions), prevention of encroachment, and claims for unjust enrichment (mesne profits).
- Labor Law: Claims for employee receivables, severance and notice pay, overtime wages, and annual leave pay.
- Law of Obligations: All types of claims and compensation disputes arising from contracts.
Administrative and Tax Litigation
Administrative and tax law are fundamental branches of law that protect the rights of individuals and legal entities against unlawful acts and actions of the administration. The primary function of administrative jurisdiction is to review the legality of actions established by the unilateral will of public authority.
In this context, our office meticulously handles actions for annulment of unlawful administrative acts and full remedy actions filed for compensation of damages arising from the administration's service fault or strict liability. Furthermore, we provide consultancy and legal representation services in processes for the annulment of unjustly assessed tax penalties and tax assessments, ensuring the follow-up of disputes until their finalization.
Individual Application to the Constitutional Court
An individual application to the Constitutional Court is a vital remedy granted to persons who allege that their fundamental rights and freedoms, guaranteed by the Constitution, have been violated by public authority. This right can only be exercised by natural and legal persons whose personal rights have been directly violated.
A prerequisite for an individual application is that all ordinary legal remedies against the alleged violating act must have been duly exhausted. Following the exhaustion of ordinary legal remedies, the application must be made within thirty (30) days from the notification or pronouncement of the final decision. This period is of a peremptory nature, and applications not filed within this timeframe are rejected without examination of the merits.
The application process to the Constitutional Court requires highly specialized expertise. It is of great importance that the application is prepared in accordance with admissibility criteria and that the allegations of violation are clearly presented with their legal grounds. Our law office provides professional legal services for filing individual applications with the Constitutional Court and monitoring the case files.
Individual Application to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)
After all ordinary and extraordinary domestic remedies (including the Constitutional Court) have been exhausted, the final international judicial body to which individuals can apply if they believe a violation of their rights persists is the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
Applications to the ECtHR are subject to very strict formal and procedural requirements. The application must be filed within four (4) months from the notification of the Constitutional Court's decision. The applicant is expected to demonstrate victim status and to substantiate a violation of a right stipulated in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) or its additional protocols. A significant portion of applications to the ECtHR are based on the following rights violations:
- Right to a fair trial (ECHR Art. 6)
- Right to property (Protocol No. 1, Art. 1)
- Right to respect for private and family life (Art. 8)
- Freedom of expression (Art. 10)
- Right to an effective remedy (Art. 13)
According to the concept of "effective remedy" required by ECtHR jurisprudence, domestic remedies must have been exhausted not only formally but also practically, and must have proven ineffective. This avenue is not an ordinary appeal mechanism but an exceptional review operated for the restoration of Convention rights not protected under national law. Meticulous conduct of the application process and full compliance with formal requirements are essential.