How Long Does an Appeal Take?

An appeal is a legal remedy sought on the grounds that a first-instance court decision is unlawful in terms of procedure or substance. When an appeal is filed, the decision's legality is re-examined, and a new decision regarding the dispute is rendered.

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Appellate courts are regional courts of justice that review decisions rendered by first-instance courts upon the application of one of the parties. Before the establishment of appellate courts, decisions of local courts were directly subject to cassation (appeal to the Supreme Court). Since July 20, 2016, when appellate courts came into force, it has become mandatory to first apply to the Regional Courts of Justice. This practice, implemented to reduce the workload of the Supreme Court (Court of Cassation), has unfortunately led to further delays in most cases.

The appeal period in civil cases is two weeks from the notification of the reasoned decision. The criminal appeal period is 7 days from the date of the decision for parties present at the hearing where the decision was announced. If a decision is rendered in the absence of the parties, the appeal period begins from the notification of the reasoned decision. In administrative jurisdiction, the appeal period is 30 days from the notification of the decision. The time limit for response to an appeal is the same as these periods.

The vast majority of cases are appealed and carried to the regional courts of justice. The average processing time for regional courts of justice in 2019 has not been announced. In 2019, the total number of cases carried over from previous years and received within the year by appellate courts was 1.5 Million, while the number of cases decided was 770 Thousand. The number of pending cases in appeal is estimated to be around 1 Million. Therefore, we can say that a case appealed in 2020 will conclude in approximately 3 years.

The 2019 statistics published by the Ministry of Justice do not include appellate court decision rates. While the reversal rate of the Supreme Court's Criminal Chambers was announced as 32%, the reversal rate of its Civil Chambers was announced as 21.9%. It is possible to say that the rates at which appellate courts rectify or remand first-instance court decisions are slightly higher than these figures.

Case status "Open" means that your case is under review and has not yet been decided. When the court renders a decision regarding your case, the case status appears as "Decided" in UYAP. If the decision becomes final, either by appealing to higher courts or without appeal, the case status becomes "Closed." If an appeal is filed, the case status appears as "In Appeal."

When your case is sent to the appellate court, it is queued and waits until the day it is reviewed by the court. At this stage, your case appears as "awaiting assignment for preliminary review" in UYAP. Most people querying their case see that it is in the preliminary review stage and ask how long the appellate court's preliminary review takes. Your case being in the preliminary review stage means that your case is waiting its turn for review or that the date for the preliminary review hearing is being awaited.

The reasoned decision must be drafted within 1 month after the decision hearing. After the reasoned decision is drafted, it is served on the parties, and if no appeal is filed within the appeal period, the case concludes in approximately 2 months.

After a lawsuit is filed, interest accrues on your receivables until the proceedings are definitively concluded. Therefore, interest will continue to accrue during the appeal.

Cassation is a legal remedy sought on the grounds that decisions rendered by regional courts of justice are not in conformity with the law. When an application for cassation is filed, the case is sent by the regional court of justice to the Supreme Court (Court of Cassation), and the dispute is decided by the Supreme Court, which is the highest authority.

It is possible to apply for cassation against some decisions of the regional courts of justice. Criminal cases received by the Supreme Court are first sent to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office of the Supreme Court. The case is queued and placed in archive. At this stage, when you query your case, you will see that it is in the review stage. The average processing time for cases at the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office of the Supreme Court stage is 730 days. When this stage is completed, the case is sent to the criminal chamber.

The average processing time in the Supreme Court's criminal chambers is 348 days. Therefore, we can say that a criminal case appealed in 2020 will be decided in approximately 3 years. For civil cases, the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office process is not applicable. The average processing time in the Supreme Court's civil chambers is 341 days. For civil cases appealed, it is possible to say that it takes an average of 2 years.

How Long Does an Investigation Take?

The period from the initiation of an investigation for a crime until the drafting of an indictment is called the investigation phase. While the average processing time for investigations is 416 days, this period decreases to 157 days for crimes where the perpetrator is known. Therefore, it can be said that an investigation initiated in 2020 with an identified suspect will take an average of 6 months.

How Long Does a Criminal Court of First Instance Proceeding Take?

The average processing time for criminal courts of first instance is 289 days. It can be said that a criminal case filed in 2020 will take an average of 1 year. It is possible for criminal proceedings, also known as public prosecutions among the public, to last 2 years, including the investigation.

How Long Does a High Criminal Court Proceeding Take?

The average processing time for high criminal courts is 260 days. Therefore, a high criminal case filed in 2020 will take approximately 1 year.

How Long is the Appeal Period for Labor Court Cases?

Labor courts are courts where disputes such as severance pay and other labor receivables cases, re-employment cases, and compensation cases due to work accidents are resolved. Labor court cases usually conclude in 3 to 5 hearings. The average processing time for labor courts is 555 days. Therefore, it can be said that a labor case filed in 2020 will take an average of 2 years. The average appeal duration for labor court cases is 3 years. We can also say that the cassation outcome for labor court cases will be rendered in 2 years. You can visit our compensation calculation page to calculate your severance and notice pay.

How Long Does a Divorce Case Take?

The duration of a divorce case varies depending on whether it is uncontested or contested. Uncontested divorce cases usually conclude in a single hearing. Considering that hearings are typically scheduled approximately 3 months later, an uncontested divorce case can be said to take an average of 5 months, including notification and other procedures. The average processing time for cases in family courts is 187 days. However, this period includes very short uncontested divorce cases. Therefore, it is possible to say that contested divorce cases filed in 2020 will take an average of 2 years.

How Long Does a Debt Collection Case Take?

Debt collection cases can be heard in different courts depending on the type of receivable. If a lawsuit is filed in a commercial court of first instance, the average processing time is 547 days. Therefore, a debt collection case filed in a commercial court will take an average of two years.

How Long Does an Action for Dissolution of Joint Ownership Take?

Actions for dissolution of joint ownership (also known as partition actions) are heard in civil courts of peace. The average processing time for cases in civil courts of peace is 112 days. As an action for dissolution of joint ownership is a case with many parties and requires expert examination, it is possible to say that it will take an average of 1 year.

How Long Does an Action for Annulment of Title Deed Take?

Actions for annulment of title deed are heard in civil courts of first instance. Considering that the average processing time for cases in civil courts of first instance is 425 days, an action for annulment of title deed filed in 2020 may take an average of 2 years.

How Long Does an Action for Annulment of Disposition Take?

Actions for annulment of disposition are among the cases heard in civil courts of first instance. Considering that cases in civil courts of first instance take an average of 425 days, an action for annulment of disposition may take 2 years.

How Long Does a Compensation Claim Take?

A compensation claim can be filed in different courts depending on the type of event causing the damage. If heard in a civil court of first instance, we can say it will take an average of 2 years.

How Long Do Constitutional Court Cases Take?

In 2018, the Constitutional Court received 74,680 cases, including those carried over from previous years. Of these cases, 35,395 were decided. Therefore, it is possible to say that applications made to the Constitutional Court in 2020 will be decided within an average of 2 years.

How Long Does an Administrative Court Case Take?

The average processing time for administrative cases is 201 days. We can say that an administrative case filed in 2020 will conclude within an average of 1 year.

How Many Days Does a Regional Administrative Court Render a Decision?

The average processing time for regional administrative courts in 2019 was 86 days. However, it should be considered that regional administrative courts were established in 2016, and their workload has been increasing exponentially each year. Therefore, it is possible to say that a case received by a regional administrative court in 2020 will be decided in an average of 6 months.

How Long Do Court Hearings Take?

How long court hearings take varies depending on the number of cases scheduled for that day and the type of cases. Since written procedure is fundamental in our legal system, hearings are generally short. We can say that the average hearing duration is 15 minutes. However, on busy days, it is possible to be admitted to the courtroom even 3 hours after the scheduled hearing time. Therefore, we recommend allocating at least 3 hours for your hearing.

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Av. Mehmet Yücesoy

İzmir Attorney & Legal Consultancy