The Law Amending the Law on Lawyers and Certain Laws entered into force after being published in today’s issue of the Official Gazette.
The law includes regulations on the establishment and liquidation of bar associations, how bar associations will be represented in the Union of Turkish Bar Associations (TBB), the duties of bar associations in the Criminal Procedure Code (CMK), legal aid and some boards and commissions, freedom of dress, and deductions for new lawyers.
According to the law, a new bar association can be established with a minimum of 2,000 lawyers in provinces with more than 5,000 lawyers. According to these conditions, considering the number of lawyers registered with bar associations as of today, more than one bar association can only be established in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.
The 2,000 required to establish a new bar association will also include public lawyers and SOE lawyers, even if they are not registered with the bar association.
If there is more than one bar association in the same province, a lawyer can register with any of them.
A four-person board of founders will obtain the signatures of two thousand lawyers and complete the establishment process in six months. The UMT will assign the board of founders to carry out the establishment procedures. The board of founders will convene the general assembly of the new bar association and the organs of the new bar association will be elected at the general assembly. Upon notification of the election results to the TBB, the bar association will become a legal entity.
If a new bar association is established in the same province, the bar associations will be numbered with the name of that province according to the date of legal entity. Accordingly, existing bar associations will be numbered one.
The first elective ordinary general assembly of the bar association whose establishment has been completed will be convened upon the invitation of the president of the bar association within the first week of October of the year following its establishment, the last digit of which is even. Thus, elections of all bar associations will be held on the same date.
In the event that the number of lawyers falls below two thousand, the TBB will notify the relevant bar association in writing, and if the minimum number of lawyers required for the establishment is not met within 6 months, that bar association will be liquidated.
Representation in the bar association
Each bar association will be represented at the General Assembly of the TBB by the president of the bar association and 3 fixed delegates, and 1 additional delegate for every 5,000 lawyers.
For all bar associations, regardless of the date of their establishment, the election of bar association bodies will be held every 2 years in the first week of October, and the election of TBB bodies will be held every 4 years in December. Elections will be held in years with an even number at the end.
Elections for the Presidency of the TBB and the memberships of the executive, disciplinary and supervisory boards will be held in December 2020.
An extraordinary meeting of the TBB General Assembly will be held upon the written request of the executive boards of 25 bar associations instead of 10.
Criminal Procedure Code and legal aid
In provinces with more than one bar association, the legal aid office will be established on the basis of equal representation of the bar associations. Assignment to the bureau will be made by considering equality among the lawyers in that province.
In provinces where more than one bar association is established, the appointment of lawyers to boards and commissions arising from special laws will be made on the basis of equal and rotating representation of bar associations.
Lawyers will appear in court wearing robes whose shape is determined by the TBB. No obligation will be imposed on lawyers regarding dress and attire within the scope of the business and transactions of the bar association and the union, including the internship period, and the execution of the profession.
New lawyers will pay half of the fees stipulated by the bar association they are registered with for the first 5 years of their profession.
Source: https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/turkiye/barolara-iliskin-kanun-resmi-gazetede-yayimlanarak-yururluge-girdi/1910848
