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; from the pre-litigation phase to the finalization of the judgment, all procedural stages are meticulously monitored. Each case is assessed based on 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, processes for individual application to the Constitutional Court and, following the exhaustion of domestic remedies, individual application to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) are managed. Files are meticulously prepared and monitored in accordance with the admissibility and merits criteria of the applications.
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 arising from their commercial activities and the provision of legal arrangements concerning their internal operations. All pre-litigation and litigation processes are managed, including 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 case, ensuring the monitoring 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 jurisdiction where the crime was committed. 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 towards the initiation of a public prosecution.
During the investigation phase, evidence collection, taking statements from parties and witnesses, reviewing CCTV footage, obtaining expert reports, and, if necessary, implementing protective measures such as detention or arrest against the suspect may occur. If sufficient suspicion is determined, the Public Prosecutor drafts an Indictment and submits it to the competent court, thereby initiating the prosecution phase.
For less severe offenses, the **Criminal Court of First Instance** is competent, while for more serious crimes with significant impact on public order, the **High Criminal Court** has jurisdiction. In criminal cases, the rights of the victim are protected in the capacity of the complainant's (plaintiff/intervenor) representative, and the right to defense is effectively exercised in the capacity of the suspect's/defendant's counsel. 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, custody arrangements, and liquidation of matrimonial property regimes.
- Inheritance Law: Determination of estate, abatement actions, and title cancellation and registration lawsuits based on fraudulent conveyances by the deceased.
- Real Estate Law: Title cancellation and registration, dissolution of co-ownership (partition), 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 **annulment actions for unlawful administrative acts** and **full remedy actions** filed for the compensation of damages arising from the administration's service fault or strict liability. Furthermore, in processes concerning the **annulment of unjustly assessed tax penalties and tax assessments**, consultancy and litigation representation services are provided, ensuring the monitoring of disputes until their finalization.
Individual Application to the Constitutional Court
Individual application to the Constitutional Court is a vital remedy granted to individuals who claim 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 making an individual application is the **proper exhaustion of all ordinary legal remedies** against the act alleged to have caused the violation. 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 made within the prescribed time are rejected without an examination of the merits.
The application process to the Constitutional Court requires highly specialized expertise. It is of paramount importance that the application is prepared in accordance with admissibility criteria and that the alleged violations are clearly presented with their legal grounds. Our law office provides professional legal services for making individual applications to 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 highly stringent formal and procedural requirements. The application must be made **within four (4) months** from the notification of the Constitutional Court's decision. The applicant is expected to demonstrate victim status and 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)
In accordance with the concept of **"effective remedy"** required by ECtHR jurisprudence, domestic remedies must have been exhausted not merely formally, but also practically and without success. This 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 strict adherence to formal requirements are essential.