What are the data/records recorded in the Judicial Registry as Personal Data? Who Can Access Criminal Records? Can Criminal Records be Accessed in Security Investigations? How to Delete Criminal Records?

What is a Criminal Record (Criminal Record)?

"Criminal record", also known as "criminal record", is regulated under the Law No. 5352 on Judicial Records. The Law sets out the procedures and principles regarding the collection, classification, evaluation, preservation, and preservation of information on finalized penalties and security measures and convictions using a system subject to automatic processing, and the notification of the relevant persons in the most rapid and healthy manner when necessary. Criminal records are kept by the General Directorate of Criminal Records and Statistics under the Ministry of Justice.

It is possible for individuals to access their criminal records via e-government, as well as to make a criminal record query through the "Directorates of Criminal Records" in the courthouses where they are located. Persons who wish to query their criminal record or obtain a sample must apply to the relevant places in person or through their lawyers by authorizing them with a power of attorney.

What are the Data Recorded and Not Recorded in the Criminal Registry?

Data to be recorded in the Criminal Registry 

The criminal record basically contains information on convictions, penalties and security measures. The information to be recorded in the judicial registry is listed in detail in Article 4 of the Law No. 5352 on Judicial Registry. 

As stated in Article 4, the information to be recorded in the judicial record is as follows:

"a) Regarding imprisonment sentences;

Decision of conviction to imprisonment,

Conditional release decision,

Decision on the extension of the supervision period for conditional release,

Decision on the revocation of a conditional release decision,

That the execution of the prison sentence has been completed,

b) In case of suspended imprisonment;

Supervision period,

The fact that the sentence is deemed to have been executed due to the fact that the supervision period was spent in compliance with the obligations or in good behavior,

Decision on serving the suspended prison sentence in a penal institution,

c) Regarding judicial fine;

The judgment of conviction regarding the judicial fine,

The fact that the judicial fine was executed by payment,

The fact that the judicial fine is partially or fully executed by way of restraint imprisonment,

The fact that the judicial fine is executed by paying the remaining part of the fine after the detention,

d) In case of conviction to an alternative sanction to short-term imprisonment;

Conviction to a judicial fine or security measure as an alternative sanction to short-term imprisonment,

The decision on the execution of the prison sentence due to the failure to fulfill the requirements of the security measure imposed as an alternative sanction to short-term imprisonment,

Decision on the modification of the security measure imposed as an alternative sanction to short-term imprisonment,

e) with regard to deprivation of the exercise of certain rights;

The decision on the exception brought due to the postponement of the sentence to the rights deprived as a legal consequence of a conviction to imprisonment for a deliberate crime,

A decision, issued in connection with a conviction, prohibiting the exercise of a certain right or power or the performance of a certain profession or art, or revoking a driver's license,

f) The decision issued by the court upon the request of the public prosecutor regarding the deprivation of rights arising from the foreign court's finalized conviction decision against a Turkish citizen in terms of Turkish law,

g) A decision given due to the withdrawal of the complaint or effective remorse, which removes the criminal conviction with all its consequences,

h) Decision on the determination of the expiry of the criminal statute of limitations,

i) Law on general or special amnesty; Presidential decree on special amnesty,

j) Additional penalties in the conviction decisions issued according to the Military Penal Code,

k) Decisions on security measures imposed due to mental illness, 

It is recorded in the judicial registry."

It should be noted that pursuant to Article 6 of the Criminal Registry Law No. 5352 and Article 231/13 of the Criminal Procedure Law No. 5271, the decision to defer the announcement of the verdict is recorded in a separate register within the judicial registry and these records can only be provided if requested by the public prosecutor, judge or court in connection with an investigation or prosecution. 

Article 6 of the Law No. 5352 on Judicial Registry

"Decisions on the postponement of the opening of the public prosecution and the deferral of the announcement of the verdict shall be recorded to be given only if requested by the court, judge or the Public Prosecutor's Office in connection with an investigation or prosecution."

Article 231/13 of the Code of Criminal Procedure No. 5271

"The decision to defer the announcement of the verdict shall be recorded in a dedicated system. These records may only be used for the purpose specified in this article if requested by the public prosecutor, judge or court in connection with an investigation or prosecution."

b. Data not to be recorded in the Judicial Registry 

Data not recorded in the judicial registry. Law No. 5352 on Judicial Registry is regulated under Article 5. According to this article:

"Even if issued by Turkish courts;

a) Convictions for disciplinary offenses and purely military offenses,

b) Decisions on disciplinary or compulsory imprisonment,

c) Decisions on administrative fines,

It is not recorded in the judicial registry."

On the other hand, the crimes within the scope of reconciliation listed in Article 253 of the Code of Criminal Procedure No. 5271 are not recorded in the judicial registry in the event that the reconciliation is realized during the investigation phase and the performance is fulfilled.

3. Who Can Access Criminal Records?

All judicial registry information, including the records of Turkish citizens and foreigners who have been convicted by Turkish courts or foreign courts that are finalized and recognized under Turkish law, and the records of foreigners who have committed crimes in Turkey, are kept in the "Central Judicial Registry" unit at the General Directorate of Judicial Registry and Statistics of the Ministry of Justice, after being computerized on site. The Central Judicial Registry unit is in charge of updating, editing, correcting and delivering the judicial registry records to the local judicial registries.

The Local Judicial Registry Unit, on the other hand, is in charge of entering the judicial registry information of its location and, if necessary, other locations into the computer, transferring this information to the central judicial registry and receiving the information from the central judicial registry and transmitting it to the relevant persons and institutions.

The authorities that can provide judicial registry information are regulated in Article 8 of Law No. 5352. According to this article:

"Judicial registry information is provided by the chief public prosecutors' offices, district governorships, embassies and consulates abroad in local judicial registries, and by the Ministry of Justice General Directorate of Judicial Records and Statistics in the central judicial registry."

In other words, judicial records can be given to those concerned by the General Directorate of Judicial Registry and Statistics, chief public prosecutors' offices, district governorships, embassies and consulates in cases deemed appropriate by law.

On the other hand, in Article 7 of Law No. 5352, it is stated as follows: "Judicial record information may be provided to: a) the person concerned or his/her attorney, provided that it is clearly stated in the power of attorney, b) public institutions and organizations, professional organizations in the nature of public institutions, by specifying the purpose of use." Accordingly, criminal records should only be shared with the persons specified in the law and should be used in accordance with the purpose for which they are provided.

According to Article 13 of the Law, within the scope of investigation and prosecution of a crime, courts, judges and the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office may make inquiries directly, and law enforcement and other public institutions and organizations may make inquiries with the approval of the Minister of Justice. Public institutions and organizations may make inquiries in the judicial registry and archive records of the persons concerned within the framework of the procedures and principles to be determined by the Ministry of Justice in cases where the legislation stipulates obtaining judicial registry and archive records. Real persons may also query their criminal records and archive records within the framework of the procedures and principles to be determined by the Ministry of Justice and by using secure authentication tools, and submit the result to the authority physically or electronically.

Are Criminal Records Visible in Security Investigation?

The principles regarding the scope and content of the security investigation are regulated by the Law on Security Investigation and Archival Research and the Regulation on Security Investigation and Archival Research. Pursuant to Article 7/1-a of the Regulation, a person's criminal record information is among the information examined in both archive research and security investigation. As mentioned above, all of the data to be recorded in the criminal record are examined by the competent authorities within the scope of the security investigation and affect the outcome of the security investigation.

The persons about whom a security investigation and archive search will be conducted are listed in Article 3 of the Law as follows

"(1) Archival research shall be conducted on those who will be appointed to civil service or public office for the first time or again, regardless of their status or type of employment.

(2) Confidential units in institutions and organizations containing information and documents where state security, national existence and integrity, internal and external interests may be harmed or endangered if unauthorized persons have information, and public personnel to be employed in the Ministry of National Defense, General Staff, gendarmerie, gendarmerie, security, coast guard and intelligence organizations, and personnel to be employed in penal execution institutions and detention houses, Security investigation and archive research shall be conducted together for teachers to work in public institutions and organizations, senior public administrators, persons subject to security investigation and archive research in accordance with special laws, and those employed in units, projects, facilities and services of strategic importance in terms of national security, regardless of their status or type of employment. "

The authorities authorized to conduct security investigation and archive research are regulated in Article 6 of the Law No. 7315 on Security Investigation and Archival Research. According to this article

"(1) Security investigation and archive research shall be conducted by the National Intelligence Organization, the General Directorate of Security and local local administrative authorities.

(2) The units in charge of conducting security investigation and archive research are authorized to obtain the necessary information and documents from the archives of ministries and public institutions and organizations and electronic data processing centers within the scope of security investigation and archive research, and the decisions and records within the scope of subparagraph (ç) of the first paragraph of Article 4 of this Law, limited to the request submitted to them.

(3) Personnel authorized in the units in charge of conducting security investigation and archive research may not unlawfully make inquiries about personal data in electronic environment or computer logs, change or delete log records, share the information obtained in this way or announce it through publication. They may not share personal information or documents that they have learned or acquired as a result of their duties with unauthorized persons or give them to press and broadcasting organizations or other communication channels. Necessary measures are taken regarding these issues by the units in charge of conducting security investigation and archive research." Criminal records, which are personal data, can only be processed for security investigation purposes by the National Intelligence Organization, the General Directorate of Security and local local administrative authorities. This information is shared only with authorized persons and it is unlawful to share this information with other persons.

At this point, it should also be noted that although the records regarding the HAGB decisions are recorded in a specific place in the criminal record, the HAGB records that have not yet been dismissed pursuant to Article 7/1-ç of the Regulation are also among the data examined in the security investigation and archive research. 

As a result of the security investigation, it is understood that if the person's criminal record contains data indicating that the person does not meet the conditions of being a civil servant regulated in Article 48/5 of the Civil Servants Law No. 657, the person cannot be a civil servant and the security investigation will be concluded negatively. Article 48/5 of Law No. 657 is as follows:

"Even if the periods specified in Article 53 of the Turkish Penal Code have passed; not being convicted of crimes against the security of the state, crimes against the constitutional order and the functioning of this order, embezzlement, extortion, bribery, theft, fraud, forgery, breach of trust, fraudulent bankruptcy, bid rigging, bid rigging, bid rigging, laundering of assets derived from crime or smuggling, even if the periods specified in Article 53 of the Turkish Penal Code have elapsed. "

5. How are criminal records and archive records deleted?

Criminal records and archive records are deleted upon the application of the person concerned or ex officio by the General Directorate of Criminal Records and Statistics if the conditions in Articles 9 and 12 of the Law No. 5352 are met. 

Pursuant to Article 9 of the Law:

"(1) Information in the judicial registry;

a) Completion of the execution of the sentence or security measure,

b) waiver of complaint or effective remorse, which removes the criminal conviction with all its consequences,

c) Expiration of the criminal statute of limitations,

d) General amnesty,

In that case, it is deleted by the General Directorate of Judicial Registry and Statistics and taken into the archive record.

(2) Judicial registry information is completely deleted upon the death of the person concerned." For the deletion of the judicial record, the execution of the judgment must be completed. In other words, if there is a prison sentence, it must be completed, if there is a fine, it must be paid, if there is a suspended prison sentence, the postponement period must have expired. There are also exceptional cases such as the death of the person, general amnesty and expiration of the criminal statute of limitations. Criminal records do not disappear completely after they are deleted. This information is archived and kept in the archive record for a certain period of time. 

Article 12 of the Law No. 5352 should be examined in order to delete the records in the criminal record from both the criminal record and the archive record. According to this provision:

"a) Upon the death of the person concerned,

b) For the convictions that cause a deprivation of rights under Article 76 of the Constitution and the laws other than the Turkish Penal Code, from the date when the conditions for archiving the record are met;

1. After fifteen years, provided that a decision is taken to restore the prohibited rights,

2. after thirty years, without the condition that an order for the restoration of prohibited rights has been issued,

c) For other convictions, the record shall be completely deleted after five years have elapsed from the date on which the conditions for archiving the record are met.

(2) In the event that the act is decriminalized by law, the judicial registry and archive records relating to the conviction for this offense shall be completely deleted without a request.

(3) In the event that the decision of acquittal or non-prosecution is finalized as a result of reversal in favor of the law or renewal of the trial, the criminal record and archive record related to the previous conviction decision shall be completely deleted.

(4) (Addendum: 24/11/2016-6763/40 Art.) Records regarding the security measures imposed due to mental illness shall be completely deleted upon the completion of their execution."

In this context, if the conditions in the above-mentioned articles of the Law are met, it is possible for the person concerned to delete his/her criminal record and archive record by submitting a petition to the General Directorate of Judicial Registry and Statistics. 

Another important issue is the deletion of HAGB records. In order to erase the HAGB decisions recorded in a special register within the judicial registry, five years must pass from the date of finalization of the decision. After five years, the HAGB verdict falls and is permanently deleted from the register in the judicial registry. It is possible for the person concerned to delete the HAGB record by applying to the court that issued the decision by submitting a petition.