A paper came from the Courthouse (Notification)

Every “paper” which came from the court, the public prosecutor’s office or civil enforcement offices is sent to inform you about an official transaction. The paper which is sent from these institutions is called “notification”.

What should I do when a letter came from the courthouse?

If you read the letter carefully you will notice that all the necessary information is written on it. If you think that the information on the paper is complicated or incomprehensible you can take the assistance of a lawyer. Do not forget that every letter coming from the courthouse is sent for an official action and most probably, it is subjected to a limited time.


 

What is the notification for?

The notification is sent to you in order to inform you about a judicial action. The State informs you about an official action which might be against you and wants you to protect your own rights. Be aware of the fact that the notification may be about any subject. The notification is sent for various subjects such as inviting you to the court as a witness, informing you that an enforcement procedure has started against you because of your debt or informing you about the hearing date etc. From which court or office and for what purpose is the notification sent is written on the paper. Please read it carefully.

How can I understand who sent the notification?

The name of the office is written on the left top corner of the notification. For instance, 2nd Civil Enforcement Office of Manavgat or General Civil Court of Mardin etc. Furthermore, there is a number indicating the type of action. The number is called file number.

What is the file number?

The courts give a separate number for each file in order to carry out the actions in a proper way. This number is called file number and its acronym is E. There is a simple logic of the file number. The first part of the number shows the year in which the case is instituted and the second part indicates the sequence of the case in the same year. It is written like “E:2009/65” or “E:09/65”. Since each court gives separate number, the files are considered with the name of the court. For instance, Felony Court of Rize E:08/103.

What should I do with the notification?

You absolutely keep the notification. The information on it will be helpful for you.

I received the notification, what if I do not do anything?

There is a wide-spread misperception among the society that “judicial process does not start, if the notification is not received”. Whatever you do, do not make the mistake by doing nothing after you received the notification. When the notification reached to you, a judicial action has been started. To keep silent means that you endanger your own right. In civil courts, when you do not respond to the lawsuit against you it is supposed that you deny all the claims. However, when you do not follow the case, it means that you disclaim your a lot of rights such as primarily to submit evidences to the court and to respond the evidences of the other party. In case you do not do anything after receiving notifications such as “payment orders” from civil enforcement offices, it may result in various losses of rights.

What happens if I do nothing?

In state-related issues, the actions are not protracted. Each action has its own duration. When you receive the notification the duration of that certain action starts. You may lose your right to object, you may lose your rights, you may get into debt, you may be assumed that you accept the debt, even in some cases you may be taken by force by the police.

They left the notification to the neighbourhood governor, what if I do not receive it?

If you are not at home warning document is pasted to the door and the notification is left to the neighbourhood governor. The day in which the notification is left to the neighbourhood governor it is assumed that the notification is given to you. Even though you do not receive it the legal durations start. All undesirable situations which are mentioned above may happen to you.

They sent the notification to my old address, I was not informed about it!

It is your own responsibility to inform about your new address. The notification which is sent to the address you have submitted to an official institution is assumed that it is sent to you, even you moved from there. It may result in judicial consequences against you. For this reason, you definitely submit your latest address to the Registration Office.