LibGuides: Researching Turkish Law in English: Web Resources

About

There are numerous free websites that can assist in locating Turkish primary law, as well as secondary information on Turkish legal topics. Links to available English translations of Turkish law are listed below at right.

Turkish Government Information (English)

The Turkish Judiciary (English)

European Court of Human Rights

Turkey is a charter member of the Council of Europe. Cases in the ECHR where Turkey has been a respondent are available in HUDOC, the case database of the ECHR.

Legislation and Regulations (English)

Some Turkish government and NGO/IGO websites post English translations of Turkish legal materials. Note that the translations may not be official, or reflect the most current versions.

Attorneyship Law (Law No. 1136, passed March 19, 1969)
Source: Website of the Union of Turkish Bar Associations
Civil Code: First Book (Law No. 4721, updated by Law No. 4963 of August 6, 2003)
Source: Website of the Third Sector Foundation of Turkey
Criminal Procedure Code (enacted in 2004)
Source: SHERLOC (Sharing Electronic Resources and Laws on Crime) database of UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime).
Cultural Heritage Legislation
Source: UNESCO Database of National Cultural Heritage Laws
Electronic Signature Law (Law No. 5070, published in the Official Gazette on January 23, 2004)
Source: LawsTurkey.
European Country of Origin Information Network: Turkey
The ecoi.net site provides links to a number of Turkish laws translated into English, including the Citizenship Law.
Labour Act (Law No. 4857, enacted May 22, 2003)
Source: NATLEX database
Law on Fight Against Terrorism (Law No. 3713, promulgated April 12, 1991, as amended 1995, 1999, 2003, 2006, and 2010)
Source: Legislationline.org.
Law on the Execution of Penalties and Security Measures (Law No. 5275, adopted December 13, 2004)
Source: LawsTurkey.
LawsTurkey
PDFs of a number of laws and regulations are available, although the sponsorship is unclear.
Law to Protect Family and Violence Against Women ( Law No. 6284, March 8, 2012)
Source: Website of the Women's Learning Partnership and the ILO
Legal Aspects and Scope of International Child Abduction (Law No. 5717, accepted November 22, 2007)
Source: LawsTurkey.
Legislationline: Turkey
Links to English translations of several Turkish laws, as well as pertinent cases primarily related to human rights.
Penal Code (2004, amended in 2016)
Source: Legislationline.org

WWW Resources

Doing Business: Turkey
This page provides access to the current "Doing Business" English-language guide for Turkey, based on annual World Bank surveys. The guide provides detailed information on starting a business, dealing with permits, hiring workers, etc.
Guide to Law Online: Turkey
The Law Library of Congress provides this collection of links to Turkish laws and government information.
Lex Mundi: Guide to Doing Business in Turkey
This guide is part of a large collection of English-language overviews of conducting business in various foreign jurisdictions. The authors of the guides are members of Lex Mundi, a global organization of attorneys representing over 100 countries. Authors of this 2016 guide on Turkey are members of the Pekin & Pekin law firm.
Peace Palace Library
Located in The Hague, the Peace Palace Library serves the International Court of Justice and has been collecting international legal materials since 1913. The Library's website provides access to its online catalogue, as well as a variety of research guides.
University of Minnesota Human Rights Library
This is an extensive online collection of 60,000+ human rights treaties and other human rights documents. Numerous links are also provided to human rights websites. Additionally, there is a site-specific search engine available, and a section on "Resources for Researching Country Conditions."
World Legal Information Institute (WorldLII): Turkey
Several non-profit regional legal information initiatives created and now maintain World LII. The site offers legal subject-based links for individual countries.

Int'l/Regional/Local Organizations

SSRN (Social Sciences Research Network)

SSRN is an electronic repository for international social sciences scholarship that includes the Legal Scholarship Network (LSN). Thousands of downloadable abstracts, working papers, and published papers are available without charge.