Compensation for Wrongful Detention in Türkiye: Claiming from the State after Custody, Remand or Acquittal

CMK 141/1 lists the situations in which a person may claim compensation. All of them concern measures taken during a criminal investigation or prosecution (suç soruşturması veya kovuşturması). The list is closed, so the first task is to find the ground that fits what happened to you. Under the Article, a person may claim from the State where he or she was:

1. (a) arrested (yakalama), remanded in detention (tutuklama), or kept in detention by a decision to continue it, outside the conditions laid down by law;
2. (b) not brought before a judge within the statutory custody period (gözaltı süresi);
3. (c) remanded in detention without being reminded of his or her legal rights, or without a request to exercise the rights reminded being met;
4. (d) lawfully remanded, but not brought before the trial authority within a reasonable time and not given a judgment within that time;
5. (e) lawfully arrested or remanded, and later given a decision of non-prosecution (kovuşturmaya yer olmadığına dair karar) or an acquittal (beraat);
6. (f) convicted, but the time spent in custody and on remand is longer than the sentence, or punished of necessity with a fine alone because the law provides only a fine for the offence committed;
7. (g) not told the reasons for the arrest or detention and the accusations, in writing or, where that was not immediately possible, orally;
8. (h) arrested or remanded without the relatives being notified;
9. (i) the subject of a search order carried out in a disproportionate way;
10. (j) deprived of belongings or other assets by a seizure (elkoyma) made although the conditions were not met, or whose seized property was not protected with the necessary measures, was used for purposes outside its intended use, or was not returned in time;
11. (k) not allowed to use the remedies the Code provides against arrest, judicial control (adli kontrol) or detention;
12. (l) (added in 2024 by Law No. 7499) given a non-prosecution decision or an acquittal after judicial-control obligations had been applied in the form of not leaving the home, or of submitting to and accepting treatment or examination, including admission to hospital to be cleared of addiction to narcotic, stimulant or volatile substances or to alcohol.

In each of these situations the person may claim from the State all pecuniary and non-pecuniary loss (maddî ve manevî her türlü zararlarını), in the words of CMK 141/1. Pecuniary loss covers what can be counted in money, such as lost income or costs caused by the measure; non-pecuniary loss covers the distress of losing one's liberty. How much is awarded is a matter for the authority that decides the claim, and it depends on the evidence of the loss.

Two of these grounds are the ones a foreign reader of this note is likely to recognise first. Ground (e) is the plain case: you were lawfully taken in, the measure itself was not unlawful, but the file ended in an acquittal or a decision not to prosecute. The ground itself presupposes a lawful arrest or remand; it does not depend on showing that the measure was unlawful. Ground (a) is different: it covers a measure taken outside the legal conditions, whatever the outcome of the file. The two can arise in the same case. Other grounds may also matter to a visitor: (g) if the reasons were not explained, (h) if no one told your family, and (j) if your phone, passport or money was held and not returned in time. See the pages on arrest in Türkiye, remand and bail, house arrest instead of remand and getting seized money back.

The authority must tell you. Under CMK 141/2, the authorities that give the decisions described in grounds (e), (f) and (l) inform the person concerned that he or she has a right to compensation, and this is written into the decision. If you have a non-prosecution decision or an acquittal, read it again or have it translated: the sentence about compensation should be there. Whatever the decision says, the claim rests on a ground in CMK 141/1 and must be made within the time limits in CMK 142/1.

Until 2024 every claim under CMK 141 went to an assize court (ağır ceza mahkemesi). Law No. 7499 split the route in two. CMK 142/2 still provides that a claim is decided by the assize court of the place where the person who suffered the loss lives, or, where that assize court is connected with the act complained of and there is no other assize chamber in the same place, by the nearest assize court. But the sentences added in 2024 say that for claims under grounds (e), (f) and (l) of CMK 141/1, the provisions of Law No. 6384 on the Compensation Commission apply.

The practical result is that the reader who was detained and later acquitted or not prosecuted, ground (e), files with the Compensation Commission, made up of judges and prosecutors appointed by the Minister of Justice (Law No. 6384 Article 4/1). A claim based on unlawful arrest or detention, ground (a), or on any of the grounds (b), (c), (d), (g), (h), (i), (j) or (k), stays with the assize court. Under a transitional provision of Law No. 6384 (provisional Article 3/4), claims of this kind may be filed with the Commission after 1 June 2024.

A wrong choice of route is not fatal in itself. Under CMK 142/2, claims made to the assize court that fall under Law No. 6384 are sent to the Commission, and where claims inside and outside the court's remit are made together, the court separates them and sends the Commission's share on; in those cases the date of the claim to the assize court counts. Law No. 6384 Article 5/B(2) provides the mirror rule: a claim made to the Commission that belongs to the assize court is sent there, and the date of the claim to the Commission counts. If the Commission and the assize court disagree on which of them has the case, either of them applies to the Ankara Regional Court of Appeal (Ankara Bölge Adliye Mahkemesi), which decides finally.

Whichever route applies, the time limit is the same and it is tied to finality (kesinleşme), not to the date you were released. Ask your lawyer to establish the date on which the decision became final and the date on which finality was notified to you, because both dates matter. See the note on verdict types in a Turkish criminal court.

Deadline. Under Law No. 6384 Article 5/B(1), an application to the Commission is made within three months of the notification to the person concerned that the decision or judgment has become final, and in any event within one year of the date on which it became final. The two limits run side by side: the three months start only on notification, but the one-year limit starts on finality whether or not anyone has notified you. A foreign national who has left Türkiye and has no address for service on file may never receive the notification, and the one-year limit still runs.

How to file. Article 5/B(4) applies the filing rules of Article 5 and the petition rules of Article 5/A to these claims. Under Article 5/4, the application may also be made through a chief public prosecutor's office (Cumhuriyet başsavcılığı), which sends the papers to the Commission without delay; the date of filing with the prosecutor's office counts. Under Article 5/5, the application may also be made electronically, under rules set by the Ministry. Under Article 5/6, the papers drawn up for the application are exempt from stamp duty and the procedural steps are exempt from court charges (harç).

What the petition must contain. Under Article 5/A(2), the petition states the applicant's full identity and address, the act through which the loss was suffered, and the nature and amount of the loss, and the documents proving them are attached. Under Article 5/A(3), if the information and documents are insufficient, the Commission tells the applicant to remedy the gap within one month, failing which the claim is rejected. For a foreign applicant, the documents that prove the loss may be in another language and may come from another country; they need to be ready before the one-month window opens, not after.

What the Commission applies. Under Article 5/B(3), the Commission applies CMK 141, 143 and 144 when it assesses claims and the recovery of compensation. The grounds, the exclusions and the recovery rules described in this note therefore apply in the same way before the Commission as before a court.

Challenging the decision. Under Article 7/4, an objection to a Commission decision may be lodged within fifteen days of its notification, through the Commission, to the Ankara Regional Administrative Court (Ankara Bölge İdare Mahkemesi). The petition is sent on at once with all the documents of the application; the law treats the objection as a priority matter to be decided within three months. If the court finds the Commission decision wrong, it decides the merits itself, and the decision given on objection is final.

Payment. Under Article 7/5, compensation ordered to be paid is paid by the Ministry within three months of the decision becoming final, and the payment papers are exempt from stamp duty and the procedural steps from court charges.

A claim based on any ground other than (e), (f) and (l), for example an arrest or a remand ordered outside the legal conditions, a custody period that was exceeded, a search carried out disproportionately or property not returned in time, is brought before the assize court.

1. Time limit. Under CMK 142/1, the claim may be made within three months of the notification to the person concerned that the decision or judgment has become final, and in any event within one year of the date on which it became final.
2. Court. The assize court of the place where the person who suffered the loss lives decides; where that court is connected with the act complained of and there is no other assize chamber there, the nearest assize court decides (CMK 142/2). The Article ties the court to the claimant's place of residence; for a claimant who lives outside Türkiye, settle with your lawyer before filing which court that points to.
3. Petition. Under CMK 142/3, the petition states the claimant's full identity and address, the act through which the loss was suffered, and the nature and amount of the loss, with the documents attached.
4. Gaps. If the information or documents are insufficient, the court gives notice that the gap must be remedied within one month, failing which the claim is rejected; a petition not completed in time is rejected, and an objection lies against that rejection (CMK 142/4).
5. The State's answer. The court serves the petition and documents it considers sufficient on the Treasury's representative in its district, who has two weeks to set out any statements and objections in writing (CMK 142/5).
6. Assessment. The court may carry out, or have one of its judges carry out, any inquiry it considers necessary to assess the claim and the evidence and to fix the amount under the general principles of compensation law (CMK 142/6).
7. Hearing. The court decides after a hearing; if the claimant or the Treasury's representative does not attend despite a summons served with an explanation, the court may decide in their absence (CMK 142/7).
8. Appeal. The claimant, the public prosecutor or the Treasury's representative may lodge an appeal (istinaf), which is examined with priority and urgency. If the regional court of appeal finds the decision wrong, it decides the merits itself, and its decision is final (CMK 142/8). See the page on appeals in Türkiye.
9. Enforcement and payment. A compensation judgment cannot be enforced before it is final and before the administrative application process is complete. The compensation awarded is paid into the bank account that the claimant or the claimant's lawyer notifies in writing to the defendant administration, within thirty days of that notification; if it is not paid in that time, the judgment is enforced under the general rules (CMK 142/10).

Some of the assize-court grounds concern property rather than liberty. If your phone, passport or cash was held, the pages on search and seizure and a phone taken by the police explain the measure itself; ground (j) is the compensation side of the same story.

Only the State is the defendant. Under CMK 141/3, outside the situations listed in 141/1, claims for compensation arising from the decisions or acts of judges and public prosecutors during a criminal investigation or prosecution, including claims based on personal fault, tort or other forms of liability, may be brought only against the State. You do not sue the judge or the prosecutor personally. Under CMK 141/4, the State has recourse, within one year, against a judge or prosecutor who abused his or her duties by acting contrary to them, for the compensation it has paid.

Who cannot claim. CMK 144/1 excludes certain persons who were lawfully arrested, placed under judicial control or remanded:

• (b) those who were not entitled to compensation but whose situation became eligible only because of a later law with more favourable provisions;
• (c) those given a non-prosecution decision or a decision that the case is dropped (düşme) on grounds such as a general or special amnesty, withdrawal of the complaint or reconciliation (uzlaşma), and those whose public prosecution was suspended, postponed or discontinued;
• (d) those in respect of whom it was decided that no penalty be imposed because they lacked criminal capacity (kusur yeteneği);
• (e) those who caused their own custody, judicial control or remand by declaring before the judicial authorities, untruthfully, that they had committed or taken part in the offence.

Point (a) of the same Article has been repealed. Exclusion (c) matters for a foreign reader whose file ended with reconciliation: reconciliation can close the file, but under CMK 144/1-c a non-prosecution or dropping decision based on it does not give a right to compensation for a lawful arrest or remand. See the page on criminal mediation.

When the money is taken back. Under CMK 143/1, where a non-prosecution decision is later lifted, a public prosecution is brought and the person is convicted, or where an acquittal is set aside through a retrial to the person's detriment and he or she is convicted, the part of the compensation paid that corresponds to the period of the conviction is recovered. It is recovered on the public prosecutor's written request, by a decision of the same court, under the rules on the collection of public receivables, and that decision is open to objection. Under Law No. 6384 Article 5/B(3), for compensation awarded by the Commission, the prosecutor's written request for recovery is made to the Commission. Under CMK 143/3, where custody or remand resulted from a false accusation (iftira) or false testimony, the State also has recourse against the person who made the false accusation or gave the false testimony.

None of this turns every closed file into a claim. The authority deciding the claim looks at the ground relied on, the exclusions in CMK 144 and the evidence of loss. What the law does provide is a route, and that route closes when the time limits pass.