Temyiz is the last tier of review in the Turkish system: civil and criminal cases go to the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay), administrative cases to the Council of State (Danıştay). The English term has to tell the reader two things that the bare word “appeal” leaves out: that this review is chiefly about the lawfulness of the decision, and that it comes after istinaf rather than in its place.
What the Codes put under review
A civil party may apply for temyiz against final decisions of the civil chambers of a regional court of appeal within two weeks of service (HMK Article 361(1)); some decisions cannot be taken further at all (Article 362). The grounds for reversal are listed: misapplication of the law or of a contract, breach of the conditions for bringing the action, refusal of evidence without a legal reason, and procedural errors that affected the decision (Article 371(1)). The criminal rule is sharper still: temyiz can rest only on the ground that the judgment is unlawful (CMK Article 288(1)). In administrative cases the Council of State hears temyiz, with a thirty-day time limit (İYUK Article 46(1)).
Appeal on points of law, and the court’s name
The suggested rendering is “appeal on points of law (temyiz)”, with “Court of Cassation (Yargıtay)” and “Council of State (Danıştay)” for the courts. The descriptive phrase states the scope of review in words an English reader already uses. “Cassation appeal” is shorter and correct, but some readers outside continental systems find it opaque. The court names are not a translator’s invention either: the practical information published for Türkiye on the Hague Conference website lists the “Court of Cassation” and the “Council of State” among the authorities that forward requests for service.
Why not “Supreme Court”
“Supreme Court” is the rendering to avoid for Yargıtay. It tells an English reader that one court sits at the top of the system. Türkiye has several: the Court of Cassation, the Council of State and the Constitutional Court are separate high courts, and a single file can name two of them. Calling one of them the Supreme Court leaves the reader unsure which court decided what.
Onama, bozma and a second meaning
The verbs of the decision carry the outcome, and each gets one fixed English equivalent. Onama is close to “approval” in a dictionary, but the chamber is not approving anything; it finds the decision lawful and has to give its reasons (HMK Article 370(1)). “Upheld” or “affirmed” is suggested, and düzelterek onama, where the chamber corrects the decision while upholding it (Article 370(2)), becomes “upheld as corrected”. Bozma is “reversed” or “quashed”. Criminal chambers word their result differently: they dismiss the temyiz application on the merits, and they set out each ground for reversal separately (CMK Article 302(1) and (2)). Rendering that dismissal as “upheld” erases a distinction the source keeps. The word temyiz also has an unrelated second meaning. Where a notary doubts a party’s capacity, the party’s temyiz kudreti is established by a medical report (Notaries Law Regulation Article 91); that is “capacity of discernment” and has nothing to do with appeals.
After reversal: persistence and the Plenary Assembly
A court whose decision was reversed may persist in it. A temyiz against that decision of persistence (direnme kararı) is first examined by the chamber that reversed; if the chamber does not accept the persistence, the file goes to the Plenary Assembly of Civil Chambers (Hukuk Genel Kurulu), whose decision has to be followed (HMK Article 373(5) and (7)). “Decision of persistence (direnme kararı)” and “Plenary Assembly of Civil Chambers” keep these steps apart from an ordinary reversal, and each verb keeps its English term every time it appears in the file.