Türkiye adopts 11th Judicial Package, enabling early release for 50,000 convicts

Türkiye’s parliament late Wednesday adopted legislation known publicly as the “11th Judicial Package,” formally titled the Law on Amendments to the Turkish Penal Code and Certain Other Laws, paving the way for sentence reductions that will benefit approximately 50,000 convicts.

The bill was passed with 274 votes in the Turkish Parliament. Provisions related to earthquake-related crimes were removed from the package before the final vote.

Early release mechanism expanded

Article 27 of the package, which governs sentence execution and early release, was approved after lawmakers excluded crimes linked to earthquakes. The adopted law expands an early release mechanism first introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The original pandemic-era regulation allowed a three-year advancement for conditional release and supervised freedom, commonly referred to as the “COVID-19 provision.” That framework applied to inmates with five years or fewer remaining on their sentences and aimed to ease prison overcrowding.

Under the new law, inmates convicted of crimes committed on or before July 31, 2023, may transfer earlier from closed prisons to open prisons and subsequently to supervised release, provided they meet eligibility criteria.

With the law’s enactment, approximately 50,000 convicts will benefit from sentence reductions.

Photo shows General Assembly of Turkish Parliament in Ankara, Türkiye, accessed on Dec.24, 2025. (AA Photo)

Serious crimes excluded

The regulation does not apply to serious offenses. Excluded crimes include terrorism, organized crime, intentional homicide, sexual assault, sexual abuse of children, and crimes committed against family members or vulnerable individuals.

Crimes involving deaths resulting from the collapse, destruction or damage of buildings and other structures during earthquakes are also explicitly excluded from the scope.

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A provision was added to the package postponing the application of inflation accounting for three years, following requests from small and medium-sized enterprises and professional groups.

Under the amendment, inflation adjustment will not be implemented in 2025, 2026 and 2027.

Key legal changes included in the package

Among other provisions adopted by parliament:

• Lawyers who commit a second disciplinary offense within five years of a finalized penalty will receive a sanction one degree heavier than the original penalty.
• Lawyers who have previously received a dismissal penalty will be expelled from the profession if they commit another offense requiring at least a reprimand within five years.
• Courts will definitively reject requests to annul tenders if applicants fail to pay required proportional fees and deposits.
• Sentences for organization leaders will be increased by between one-half and one-fold if children are used in organized criminal activity.
• Blank-firing guns will be classified under the offense of deliberately endangering public safety, carrying prison sentences of six months to three years.
• Sentences for breach of trust involving motor land, sea or air vehicles will be doubled.
• In cases of negligent injury, the minimum prison sentence will rise from three to four months, while the maximum will increase from one year to two years.
• Preventing the movement of transportation vehicles will become punishable, in addition to hijacking or detention, with increased penalties.
• Regional appellate criminal chambers will be authorized to overturn first-instance rulings even when identifying unlawful elements.
• For price tariffs set by tradespeople and artisans that receive a negative opinion from the Trade Ministry, a reconciliation commission will issue a final decision within 15 days.

Meanwhile, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc welcomed the adoption of the law.

“I wish that the Law on Amendments to the Turkish Penal Code and Certain Other Laws, known to the public as the 11th Judicial Package and adopted by the TBMM General Assembly (Turkish Parliament), will be beneficial,” Tunc said in a statement shared on social media.

“With the judicial package prepared in line with the goals set out in our ‘Türkiye Century Judicial Reform Strategy Document,’ significant regulations have been implemented in the areas of supporting social peace, combating crime more effectively, ensuring stronger protection of fundamental rights and freedoms, strengthening legal certainty, increasing the effectiveness of our justice services, and ensuring fairness in the execution of sentences," he added.

December 24, 2025 09:54 PM GMT+03:00