A witness record from a Turkish civil case is a short document with a precise anchor: under Article 261(5) of the Code of Civil Procedure (HMK), the words of the witness are written into the minutes, read out in front of the witness and then signed by the witness at the foot. What a reader abroad can rely on flows from that sequence. This page follows the record from the summons to the signature.
Which court heard the witness
Witnesses are heard by the court hearing the case (Article 259(1)), but three exceptions produce a record with a different court in its heading. The court may order the witness to be heard at the place where the event occurred or the thing is located (Article 259(2)); a witness who cannot attend because of illness or disability is heard where they are (Article 259(3)); and a witness outside the judicial district may be heard by the court of the place where they are, in which case the place, day and hour are served on the parties on request and the judge determines the matters on which the witness is to be heard (Article 259(4)). A heading naming a court in another city is therefore not an error, and in English the requesting court and the hearing court are labelled separately.
The summons that brought the witness
Witnesses are called by a summons, though a witness produced by a party at the hearing is heard without one (Article 243(1)), and the summons must be served at least one week before the hearing (Article 243(2)). Article 244(1) fixes its contents: the name, surname and full address of the witness, the names of the parties, the subject on which the witness will testify, the place, day and hour of attendance, the legal and criminal consequences of not attending or of refusing to testify or to take the oath, and that a fee will be paid under the tariff prepared by the Ministry of Justice each year. Attendance is compulsory and a witness who stays away without excuse can be brought by force (Article 245(1)). Where the summons is translated for a witness, the warnings are rendered at full strength rather than as a request.
The warning, and then the oath
Before being heard the witness is told the importance of telling the truth, that they will be punished for the offence of perjury if they do not, that they will swear to tell the truth, that they may not leave the courtroom without the express permission of the presiding judge or judge, and that they may be confronted with other witnesses if necessary (Article 256). Those under fifteen at the time of the hearing and those without sufficient discernment to grasp the nature and importance of an oath are heard without one (Article 257). The oath itself is taken before the testimony, everyone present stands, including the judge, and the judge puts a question set out word for word in Article 258(3) to which the witness answers with an equally fixed formula. Records often compress this into a single line stating that the oath was administered in due form; that line is translated as the reference it is.
One at a time, and without notes
Witnesses are heard separately, those not yet heard may not be in the room, and they may be confronted where necessary (Article 261(1)). The witness explains what they know orally and is heard without interruption, and may not use written notes; if the witness tells the judge that they need to look at their writings to establish dates and figures or to recall a matter, the judge may allow it at once or order a fresh hearing (Article 261(2)). After the witness has finished, the judge may put further questions to clarify or complete the account (Article 261(3)), and in a collegiate court the president allows each judge to question the witness directly (Article 261(4)). The record therefore reads as a continuous account followed by answers, and the English version keeps that shape rather than reconstructing an examination by counsel.
Read back, then signed
The closing block is the guarantee of the document: the words written into the minutes, read out in front of the witness, and the signature at the foot. In translation the note recording that the text was read back stays, and the signature is marked at its place. Where the record shows that the witness was heard without an oath, that fact stays visible rather than being tidied away.
When the judge suspects perjury
A file can hold a second, much shorter record. Where the judge obtains sufficient evidence or indication that a witness lied while testifying, or testified in return for a benefit, the judge draws up a record and sends it at once to the chief public prosecutor’s office, and may also order the detention of the witness and of any accomplices and refer them for prosecution (Article 264). That record is a separate document with its own date, and it is translated as such and never merged with the testimony it concerns. The translator renders the text; they do not give legal advice, assess the outcome of the document or draft pleadings or contracts. Acte Tercüme translates Turkish witness records, witness summonses and the statements taken in them into English.