The Turkish judicial system has four branches, which includes:

• a constitutional branch;

• an administrative branch;

• a criminal branch; and

• a civil branch.

The courts are organised under a three-tier system, with each court falling under the following tiers.

First instance courts

General civil courts are the basic trial courts with general and residual jurisdiction covering issues not explicitly assigned to other tribunals. General courts consist of civil courts and peace courts. Specialised courts, such as family courts, employment courts, intellectual property and industrial rights’ courts and commercial courts try cases requiring expertise and special knowledge.

Higher courts

Higher courts consist of Regional Courts of Appeal and the Court of Cassation (Supreme Court of Appeals).

• Regional Courts of Appeal have the authority to examine files from the first instance courts. They may either uphold or quash the decisions of the first instance courts. In the latter situation, they may either send the case file to the relevant first instance court or retry the case itself.