Legal AlertAudio and Video in Civil Procedures

13 September 2021

The Regulation on the Execution of Hearings by Transmission of Audio and Video in Civil Procedures Is Published in the Official Gazette.

The Regulation on the Execution of Hearings by Transmission of Audio and Video in Civil Procedures (“Regulation”) is published in the Official Gazette dated 30.06.2021 and numbered 31527.

The Regulation, which entered into force on 30.06.2021, the date of its publication, based on the 5th paragraph of Article 149 of the Code of Civil Procedure numbered 6100, regulates procedures and principles regarding the participation of the party or attorney and those concerned from their place of residence, through simultaneous audio and video transmission in civil proceedings, in other words, the e-Hearing System.

Pursuant to the Regulation, e-Hearing refers to the “attendance and procedural actions of the party or his/her attorney in the civil proceedings from their place of residence by means of simultaneous transmission of video and audio; allowing the hearing of the witness, expert and other concerned parties” and the e- Hearing System refers to “the system which was established and secured by the Ministry in integration with the National Judiciary Informatics System, in order to carry out hearing procedures by simultaneously transmitting audio and video”.

In the implementation of the Regulation, besides the principles of disposition, being brought by the parties, adherence to the request, principles of publicity and procedural economy, the obligation to act honestly and telling the truth, the right to be heard, the ex officio application of Turkish Law, the duty of the judge to enlighten the case, and the principles regarding the conduct and administration of the proceedings, the principles of ensuring information security, protection of personal data, principles of ensuring service quality and ensuring national and international standards are also taken into consideration.

In accordance with the Regulation, the safe and simultaneous transmission of video and sound in the e-Hearing System and the video and sound to be of a quality that shall allow the person to be understood visually and audibly are of the essence.

Within the framework of the Regulation, the court may decide to hold the hearing via the e-Hearing System at the request of one of the parties or ex officio. Likewise, the court may decide to hear the witness, expert, or specialist via the e-Hearing System at the request of one of the parties or ex officio. The parties must submit their e-Hearing requests to the court at least two business days before the hearing, and the judge must accept or reject the request at least one business day before the hearing. The judge’s decision on the e-Hearing request is final.

The Regulation regulates that the place where the parties shall attend the e-Hearing should be far from all kinds of external factors and should allow them to understand all the visual and auditory expressions of the relevant person and to listen to the relevant person clearly. The court shall identify the attorney of the party participating in the e-Hearing by using secure electronic signature or mobile signature, UYAP records and similar methods. Identification of the other persons who shall attend the e-Hearing shall be made by issuing a report by the assigned officer at the place allocated for the e-Hearing. In addition, it has been regulated that the identification of the persons who shall attend the e-Hearing from their location due to illness, age or disability shall be made using secure electronic signature or mobile signature.

Pursuant to the Regulation, the e-Hearing is subject to the same procedures and principles as the hearing order held before the court and brings out the same legal consequences. However, declarations of waiver, acceptance, and settlement made through the e-Hearing System which conclude the case shall become valid by being renewed before the court on a new hearing date determined by the court and by signing the hearing report.

The Regulation, as a rule, regulates that recordings and images cannot be taken during the e-Hearing, but recording can be made by the court in cases where the trial makes it compulsory. Pursuant to the relevant article of the Regulation, Article 286 of the Turkish Penal Code numbered 5237 titled “Recording of sound or images” shall be applied to the person who violates the mentioned recording ban. The e-Hearing records taken when deemed necessary by the court shall be kept in the Central Registry System for 2 weeks and shall be irreversibly deleted at the end of such period. These records shall not be published without the explicit consent of the court and the persons concerned.

Within the framework of the Regulation, the procedures and principles regarding the technical criteria of the systems and devices to be used for the effective, efficient and safe execution of the e-Hearing System shall be determined by the Ministry of Justice and the provisions of the Regulation shall be executed by the Minister of Justice.

You may reach the full Turkish version of the Regulation via the link below:

https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2021/06/20210630-9.htm