ATTORNEY APPRENTICESHIP REGULATIONS OF THE UNION OF BAR ASSOCIATIONS OF TURKEY

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ATTORNEY APPRENTICESHIP REGULATIONS (*)
OF THE UNION OF BAR ASSOCIATIONS OF TURKEY



PART ONE
General Provisions

Purpose
Article 1 – The purpose of these Regulations is to provide legal, artistic, and educational opportunities for training independent and liberal attorneys who can apply the legal knowledge acquired through attorney apprenticeship to specific cases without deviating from scientific data and by using the methods of science, who can participate actively in the management of jurisprudential actions and the making of decisions throughout the process of jurisprudence, who are dedicated to the principles and rules of the profession, who endeavor to render viable the liberty of seeking justice, who respect human rights, and who will not falter from democracy and the supremacy of law.

Scope
Article 2 – These Regulations cover the stipulation of the purpose, formalities, and methods of the attorney apprenticeship to be served with bar associations.

Legal basis
Article 3 – These Regulations have been prepared in accordance with Article 23 of the Attorneyship Law, number 1136, dated 19 March 1969.
PART TWO
Application For Apprenticeship And Entry In The Apprentice Roster

Application
Article 4 – Candidates wishing to serve an apprenticeship will apply to the bar association with a letter of application.
The originals and two certified copies each of the following documents will be enclosed with the letter of application:
a) Identification card.
b) A document certifying graduation from a Turkish or foreign faculty of law or an undergraduate diploma (those who have graduated from foreign faculties of law must also furnish a document certifying that they have passed examinations in the extra courses in the curriculum of Turkish faculties of law.)
c) A document certifying residence in the district of the bar association in which enlistment is sought.
d) A signed personal statement that the candidate is free of the impediments to admission into the profession of attorneyship mentioned in Article 3, Subparagraph f and Article 5 of the Attorneyship Law.
e) A record of convictions with archival reference verifying the fact that the candidate has not been convicted of the crimes stated in Article 5, Subparagraph a of the Attorneyship Law.
f) Statements on the moral character of the candidate written separately by two attorneys enrolled with the bar association applied to, affirming their opinion that the candidate will abide by the principles and rules of the profession of attorneyship.
g) Having a bodily or mental handicap hindering one from practicing attorneyship permanently in an appropriate manner.
h) A clean bill of health issued by a medical specialist of an official hospital verifying the fact that the candidate does not have a bodily or mental handicap hindering him/her from practicing attorneyship permanently in an appropriate manner.
Incomplete applications will not be processed until the missing documents have been furnished.

Scrutiny
Article 5 – Upon the acceptance of the letter of application, the president of the bar association will assign one of the attorneys enrolled with the bar association with the task of investigating whether the apprentice candidate possesses the requisite qualifications for admission into the profession of attorneyship and whether he/she is engaged in any activities incompatible with attorneyship and preparing a report on the outcome of the investigation.
The attorney thus assigned will be under the obligation to assume this duty and submit a report within a maximum of fifteen days, barring a valid excuse.
If deemed necessary for the scrutiny of an application, the bar association may request information from social security organizations and other persons and agencies depending on the candidate's status for the purpose of investigating whether the candidate is engaged in any activities incompatible with attorneyship.

Physical examination
Article 6 – The bar association may require further medical evidence to determine whether the apprentice candidate has a bodily or mental handicap hindering him/her from practicing attorneyship permanently in an appropriate manner despite the submission of a medical report as per Article 4, Subparagraph g of these Regulations, in which case a physical examination will be conducted by the medical board of an official hospital.

Announcement
Article 7 – The request of the apprentice candidate will be publicly announced after his/her application has been admitted and processed. The request must be announced no later than fifteen days after the completion of the processing. The duration of the announcement will be fifteen days.
The announcement will be made by posting a letter with a photograph in a suitable place on the premises of the bar association and the justice hall where the Judicial committee operates. The dates the announcement has been posted and removed will be recorded in a memorandum by the bar association.

Objection
Article 8 – Every attorney or apprentice or others concerned may object to a candidate's request for entry in the apprentice roster.
The objection will be made by a letter. The objector must indicate his/her identification and address in the letter of objection, as well as the reasons for objection and the evidence, if any.

Decision
Article 9 – The board of directors of the bar association will make a reasoned decision within one month from the expiration of the objection period as to whether the candidate will be entered in the apprentice roster by taking into account the report mentioned in Article 19 of the Attorneyship Law and the documents contained in the file. The decision will be communicated to the candidate concerned and a copy will be forwarded to the local public prosecutor for consideration.
Objections may be raised against this decision with the Union of Bar Associations of Turkey by the members of the board of directors of the bar association, regardless of their presence or absence in the meeting at which the decision was made, within fifteen days as of the date of decision; by the public prosecutor as of the date the decision has been delivered to him/her; and by the candidate as of the date the decision has been communicated to him/her. The request will be considered as having been denied if a decision is not made within the period indicated in the first paragraph. In this case, the candidate may raise an objection with the Union of Bar Associations of Turkey within fifteen days as of the expiration of the one-month period.
The decisions made on objections by the Union of Bar Associations of Turkey will become final if no decision is made by the Ministry of Justice within two months as of the date of their receipt by the Ministry of Justice or if the decisions are approved. However, the Ministry of Justice will return the decisions it does not deem appropriate to the Union of Bar Associations of Turkey for reconsideration together with the reasons for return. The decisions thus returned will be considered as approved if passed unchanged by a two thirds majority vote of the Board of Directors of the Union of Bar Associations of Turkey; otherwise they will be considered as not approved. The result will be communicated to the Ministry of Justice by the Union of Bar Associations of Turkey.
Suits may be filed with administrative tribunals by the Union of Bar Associations of Turkey, the candidate, and the bar association concerned against the decisions made by the Ministry of Justice in accordance with the preceding paragraph; and by the Ministry of Justice, the candidate, and the bar association concerned against the decisions made by the Union of Bar Associations of Turkey after reconsideration of the decisions found inappropriate and returned by the Ministry of Justice.

Delivery to the Union of Bar Associations of Turkey
Article 10 – The candidate's letter of application and a copy of each of the documents enclosed therewith will be certified by the president of the bar association and sent to the Union of Bar Associations of Turkey. Written consent of the attorney with whom apprenticeship will be served will not be sought in cases described in the second and third paragraphs of Article 22 of the Attorneyship Law.




PART THREE
Apprenticeship With Courts

Apprenticeship with courts and judicial offices
Article 11 – A candidate whose entry in the apprentice roster has become final will apply, with a document he/she will receive from the bar association, to the Judicial committee in the same place as the high criminal court with which he/she wishes to serve his/her apprenticeship, within the district of the bar association.

Sequence and periods of apprenticeship
Article 12 – Apprenticeship with courts and judicial offices will be served in the following sequence and periods:
a) Public prosecutors' offices: One month.
b) High criminal court: One month.
c) Criminal court of first instance: Fifteen days.
d) Criminal court of peace: Fifteen days.
e) Civil court of peace: Fifteen days.
f) Civil court of first instance (including commercial, business, property records courts): One-and-a-half months.
g) Enforcement court and enforcement office: One month.
The judicial committee may change this sequence at its discretion and may allow an apprentice to serve with commercial, business or property records courts upon his/her request.
If there are administrative tribunals in the district of the bar association where apprenticeship is served, the apprenticeship will be served fifteen days each with public prosecutors' offices and administrative tribunals.

Serving the apprenticeship
Article 13 – The apprenticeship will be served under the supervision of the bar association, the public prosecutor, and the judge. The apprentice will be present at trials, on-site viewings, investigations, and the debating and writing of the decision without disrupting his/her apprenticeship training schedule.
The apprentice will study the files and decisions given to him/her and will prepare reports.
Apprentices will be responsible for the work they are assigned. However, mutual courtesy is the rule in the relations of apprentices with clerical staff, other apprentices, and clients. Apprentices must avoid conduct that would blemish the dignity of the profession.
There will be an apprenticeship book and an attendance sheet dedicated to apprentices in the justice hall for each term of apprenticeship to be served with courts and judicial offices. The apprentice attendance sheet will be signed by the apprentices every day. Apprentices missing signatures in the attendance sheet due to apprenticeship training activities or events such as conferences, panel discussions, and symposiums organized by the bar association will be exempt from the signature obligation by documenting their excuses. At the end of the term of apprenticeship, the attendance sheet will be approved by the public prosecutor or the judge in respect of attendance.
Apprenticeship is served without interruption. The days of absence with a valid excuse will be completed as prescribed in Article 23 of the Attorneyship Law. The apprentice will be responsible for justifying the excuse.
In the presence of a valid excuse, the chairperson of the judicial committee or the president of the bar association, depending on where the apprenticeship is being served, may grant the candidate a leave of absence not to exceed thirty days by receiving also the opinion of the attorney with whom the apprenticeship is being served.
Upon the completion of each of the periods indicated in Article 12 of the present Regulations making up that portion of the apprenticeship which is served in the justice hall, a report will be prepared in two copies showing the apprentice's days of absence, if any; the assignments given to the apprentice and his/her general level of interest and performance; and the apprentice's propensity to observing the principles and rules of the profession. One copy of the report will be sent to the judicial committee and the other to the apprentice's bar association.
Apprenticeship served with courts will be supervised and monitored by the apprenticeship board or, in its absence, by the board of directors.


PART FOUR
Apprenticeship With An Attorney

Apprenticeship with an attorney
Article 14 – The remaining six months of attorney apprenticeship will be served with an attorney enrolled with the bar association, having a minimum seniority of five years in the profession (including the length of service spent as prescribed in Article 4 of the Attorneyship Law,) and having an independent office. Apprenticeship may be served with attorney partnerships if an attorney having these qualifications is available in the partnership.

Impediments
Article 15 – The attorney with whom apprenticeship will be served must not be the subject of a decision to initiate final investigation for an offense constituting an impediment to attorneyship, or punished with a fine or dismissal from employment by a decision of the disciplinary board which has become final during the last five years.
The attorney with whom apprenticeship will be served  will be identified by the president of the bar association in the event that the attorney with whom apprenticeship is currently being served is prohibited from practice as a precaution by a decision of the disciplinary board in accordance with Article 153 of the Attorneyship Law.

Commencement of apprenticeship with an attorney
Article 16 – Candidates approved by the judicial committee and recommended to commence apprenticeship with an attorney will start working with the attorney indicated in their application as having already accepted them.
In its letter on the commencement of apprenticeship with an attorney, the board of directors of the bar association will provide information on the apprentice training program and request cooperation in ensuring the apprentice's participation therein, stating also the precautions to be taken to ensure that the apprenticeship is served in compliance with the provisions in the Regulations, and the rules of training and evaluation that must be applied.

Obligation of the attorney
Article 17 – The attorney will be under the obligation to train the apprentice to become an independent and free attorney dedicated to the principle of the supremacy of law and the principles and rules of the profession, and capable of applying his/her legal knowledge to specific cases.
In discharging this obligation, the attorney will train the apprentice by offering the apprentice the opportunity to accompany him/her during trials and prison consultations, follow up business with courts and administrative offices, and prepare lawsuit files and correspondence. No tasks may be imposed on apprentices other than the foregoing.
The attorney will be under the obligation to supervise the participation, regular attendance, and satisfactory performance of the apprentice in the training activities of the bar association.

Serving the apprenticeship
Article 18 – The apprentice will attend and observe trials in the company of the attorney provided that this does not interfere with the apprentice training activities. The apprentice may appear as counsel in the trials in the courts stated in the Attorneyship Law with the written consent of the attorney.
The apprentice will conduct business in courts and administrative offices,  prepare lawsuit files, carry out research as may be needed, manage correspondence, conduct enforcement proceedings, and participate actively in the stages of enforcement law. Apprentices will be under the obligation to comply with the principles and rules of the profession and the rules in the Regulations in serving their apprenticeship.
Apprenticeship is served without interruption. The days of absence with a valid excuse will be authorized to be served to completion by the decision of the chairperson of the judicial committe in the case of apprenticeship with courts, and the decision of the board of directors of the bar association in the case of apprenticeship with an attorney, provided that an application to that effect is made during the one month following the cessation of the excuse.
In the presence of a valid excuse, the president of the bar association may grant the apprentice a leave of absence not to exceed thirty days by receiving also the opinion of the attorney with whom the apprenticeship is being served and the apprenticeship board.
An apprentice in military service who is on leave of absence from his military unit may continue serving his apprenticeship in civilian attire from where he left off.

Tasks that apprentices may perform:
Article 19 – After starting apprenticeship with an attorney, apprentices may, with the written consent and under the supervision and responsibility of the latter, attend hearings concerning the court actions and other business being conducted by their host attorney in civil courts of peace, criminal courts of peace, and enforcement courts as well as conduct business at enforcement offices.
This power will terminate with the issuance of the apprenticeship completion certificate or deletion from the apprentice roster.
An apprentice may obtain facsimiles of documents from the files on lawsuits and cases by photocopying and similar means with the written consent of the attorney with whom he/she is serving apprenticeship.
An apprentice may also examine the files on lawsuits and cases without power of attorney or written consent.


Reports
Article 20 – The attorney with whom apprenticeship is served will issue a report at the end of the first three months and another upon completion of the apprenticeship period. The last report will be final. The reports will evaluate the attendance of the apprentice, interest in the profession, propensity to observing the principles and rules of the profession, the trials participated in, the work conducted with a certificate of authorization, research and practical work done, and similar activities.

Inspection
Article 21 – The management of the bar association will be authorized to direct the commencement of apprenticeship, and decide whether the attorney with whom apprenticeship will be served possesses the qualifications prescribed in these Regulations, and whether the capabilities of the office are adequate for the training of the apprentice. The board of directors of the bar association or, if authorized, the apprenticeship board will also inspect throughout the apprenticeship period whether apprenticeship is being served in accordance with the training goals prescribed in the "Purpose" Article of these Regulations and the rules of the profession.




PART FIVE
Apprentice Training

Apprentice training duty of the bar association
Article 22 – Every bar association conducts apprentice training activities within its own organization in order to produce independent and free attorneys who are dedicated to the principles of the profession, capable of resolving real-life issues in the light of the principle of the state of law and the rules of the supremacy of law, and operating as one of the constituents of jurisdiction with the goal of achieving just and effective jurisprudence.
Bar associations may form apprentice training units for discharging the duty of training apprentices assigned to them as per the provisions in the Attorneyship Law and the Regulations in the light of scientific principles and on a regular basis. The establishment, operation, powers and responsibilities, and other affairs of these units will be defined by house regulations to be adopted by the general assembly of each bar association as provided for in these Regulations.
For apprentices serving their apprenticeship with bar associations lacking the necessary and sufficient means to offer apprentice training on a systematic and scheduled basis, this training will be given at the apprentice training units to be established in Ankara by the Union of Bar Associations of Turkey. The establishment, operation, powers and responsibilities of these units will be defined by regulations to be prepared by the board of directors of the Union of Bar Associations of Turkey.
The training to be given to apprentices at apprentice training units will be counted towards the period of apprenticeship to be served with an attorney and may not be interpreted as being contradictory to the rule of non-interruption of apprenticeship.

Basic principles and methods of apprentice training
Article 23 – Ensuring the service of apprenticeship in a manner compliant with the "Purpose" Article of these Regulations, providing apprentices with a knowledge of attorneyship law and professional rules, and developing their skills of applying professional knowledge to real-life situations make up the basic principle of attorney apprentice training.
In view of this principle, apprentice training of at least one-hundred-and-twenty hours in the course of a one-year attorney apprenticeship term will be given at the apprentice training units under an annual training program prepared and announced in advance. At least sixty hours of this training period will be regularly allocated to the principles and rules of the profession and "the attorney in practice."
Additionally, bar associations will prescribe in the house regulations they will prepare the manner how apprentice training will be conducted and the topics to be covered, taking into consideration the particular characteristics of their local area. Seminar activities will also be conducted and cultural activities such as panel discussions and symposiums organized.

Apprenticeship boards
Article 24 – The board of directors of the bar association will be authorized to establish an apprenticeship board in order to render more comprehensive and more efficient the apprentice training the bar association is under the obligation to provide in accordance with the Law and the Regulations, and to ensure uniformity and institutionalization in practice.
The composition of the apprenticeship board, the manner of appointment of its members, the scope of the powers to be delegated to this board by the board of directors of the bar association, the manner of exercising such powers, the modus operandi of the apprenticeship board, and matters of a similar nature will be prescribed by house regulations. The term of duty of the attorneys who are members of the apprenticeship board will be three years. A member whose term of duty expires may be re-elected.



PART SIX
Miscellaneous Provisions

Obligation to observe professional rules
Article 25 – Apprentices will be under the obligation to comply with the rules of the profession, the present Regulations and the house regulations to be issued by bar associations, and the decisions of principle of the Union of Bar Associations of Turkey.


Apprentice card
Article 26 – Once entered in the apprentice roster, an apprentice will be issued an attorney apprentice identification card with a serial number and a photograph printed to a standard format by the Union of Bar Associations of Turkey. The card will be recovered when the apprentice receives his/her apprenticeship completion certificate or is deleted from the apprentice roster.

Obligation to keep a file
Article 27 – A file will be opened for each apprentice at the apprentice training units. The documents submitted and produced until the stage of entry in the apprentice roster and all information and documentation regarding the attendance and training of the apprentice at the training stage will be kept in this file. The file will be submitted to the board of directors of the bar association  upon completion of the apprentice training.

Extension of the apprenticeship period
Article 28 – The apprenticeship period of an apprentice evaluated as inadequate by the reports of courts or public prosecutors, or by the report of the attorney with whom apprenticeship was served, or in his/her performance in the apprentice training may be extended by up to six months by the decision of the board of directors of the bar association.

Completion of apprentice training
Article 29 – An apprentice training completion certificate will be issued to an apprentice upon completion of apprentice training. The apprentice must have participated in the apprentice training program in order to be authorized to receive this certificate. Furthermore, the apprentice must have been rated as satisfactory in verbal and written expression, legal qualification, and propensity to observing professional principles and rules in the compulsory and optional training activities; must have had his/her personal activity report admitted; and must have raised the impression that he/she would uphold the dignity of the profession and abide by the principles stated in the "Purpose" Article of these Regulations in practicing attorneyship.

Receiving the apprenticeship completion certificate
Article 30 – The board of directors of the bar association will decide in its first meeting to issue an apprenticeship completion certificate to an apprentice who has completed his/her apprenticeship period and has received an apprentice training completion certificate provided that an examination of the documentation and reports in the apprentice's file yields the conclusion that they are adequate.

Transfer of the apprenticeship
Article 31 – Transferring the apprenticeship to another location is permitted. Those rules in Articles 68, 69, and 70 of the Attorneyship Law which are not contradictory to apprenticeship will govern in this respect. An apprentice may be held partially or fully exempt from apprentice training by the receiving bar association upon the recognition that he/she has partially or fully completed apprentice training with the sending bar association.

Deletion from the apprentice roster
Article 32 – The names of those who lose the conditions and qualifications for attorney apprenticeship prescribed by the Attorneyship Law and the Regulations, those who are subsequently discovered not to have originally possessed such conditions and qualifications, those who request their deletion from the attorney roster of their own will, those who violate the rule of non-interruption of the apprenticeship, and those who persist in acting in contradiction of professional rules and the provisions in the Regulations despite a written warning will be deleted from the apprentice roster by the decision of the board of directors of the bar association.
The procedure described in Article 71 of the Attorneyship Law will be applied regarding the decision of deletion by the board of directors of the bar association and the objection of the apprentice.

Provisional Article 1 – Bar associations will be under the obligation to prepare their apprentice training programs in accordance with these Regulations by 1 January 2002.

Entry into effect
Article 33 – These Regulations will enter into effect on the date of their publication.

Enforcement
Article 34 – The provisions in these Regulations will be enforced by the board of directors of the Union of Bar Associations of Turkey.


(*) The present Regulations have been published in the Official Gazette issue 24615 dated 19 December 2001