How long does a compensation case last?

The question of how long compensation cases take is frequently asked to our law office. The answer to how long the court takes may vary according to many factors such as the province where your case is located, the courthouse, the court, the content of your case, the intensity of the evidence, the amount of the claim. The stages of the compensation case consist of this and it is obvious that it will not end in a short time. Although the duration of the compensation case depends on many reasons, the first instance proceedings take 1-2 years. In our article, you can also find the answer to the question of how to file a compensation lawsuit.

How to file a lawsuit for compensation?

The answer to the question of how to file a lawsuit for compensation will vary according to the content of the compensation lawsuit to be filed. First of all, it is necessary to determine in which court the lawsuit will be filed. It is important to know the jurisdictional and jurisdictional distinctions and to file the lawsuit in the right court. As a result of the lawsuit to be filed in an incompetent court, it is likely to face trial costs and counter-attorney fees, as the lawsuit will be rejected on the grounds of jurisdiction.

After the determination of the court where the lawsuit will be filed, the lawsuit for compensation is filed with the submission of the petition of the lawsuit, in which the subject of the lawsuit, legal grounds, fact pattern, evidence and the resulting claim are explained, to the dispatch office and the fee/expense advances are deposited. Electronic signature or mobile signature holders can also file their lawsuits online via UYAP (National Judicial Network Project) Portal.

However, in accordance with the principle that procedure comes before substance, you must file your lawsuit in accordance with the procedural rules determined by law and follow your lawsuit in the same way before you can prove your rightfulness in your case. A procedural error, for example, if an evidence is not submitted in due time or a procedural period is missed, may cause your case to be rejected and your rightful case to be lost. In this case, you will not be able to prove your rightfulness before the court, and you may also suffer a serious financial loss due to the costs of the proceedings and counter-attorney fees. Moreover, since the rejection of your case will constitute a final judgement in most cases, you may not be able to reopen the same case. For this reason, filing your compensation lawsuit with a lawyer specialised in compensation lawsuits will prevent possible loss of rights.

What are the Stages of Compensation Lawsuit?

Mediation Process

If your compensation claim arises from a consumer transaction, a commercial business or labour law, the mediation procedures must be completed first, since the mandatory litigation requirement is the mediation period. The mediation period is 4 weeks for consumer transactions and labour law disputes and 8 weeks for commercial business.

First Instance Trial

In the event that no agreement is reached during the mediation process or in respect of a dispute that is not subject to mediation, the compensation proceedings shall proceed directly. Compensation proceedings consist of the exchange of petitions, preliminary examination, investigation and oral hearing stages.

Exchange of Petitions

The petitions for lawsuit, reply, reply to reply and second reply constitute the exchange of petitions. In this process, the parties submit their demands and defences to the court through petitions.

Preliminary Examination Phase

At this stage, the court examines the conditions of the case and the first objections, and analyses the issues in dispute in full.
The court determines the parties to the proceedings, carries out the preparatory procedures and the necessary procedures for the parties to present their evidence and to collect the evidence, encourages them to settle or mediate in cases where the parties can freely dispose of them, and records these matters in the minutes.

Investigation Phase

In this process, the court collects the evidence submitted or requested to be submitted by the parties, listens to the witnesses, and if necessary and if requested by the parties, conducts discovery.

Oral Trial Phase

After all the evidence is collected and the investigation phase is over, the oral proceedings begin. During the oral proceedings, the court asks the parties for their last words and renders its judgement.

Appeal Process

In our judicial justice system, a 3-level judgement process is envisaged. After the first instance proceedings, if the decision is not final, the file is sent to the Regional Court of Appeal upon the request of at least one of the parties.

As of 2024, the appeal limit is 28.250,00 TL. Decisions below this amount are finalised at the first instance court stage and cannot be appealed by the parties.

How long does the Court of Appeal for Compensation Case take?

Although the duration of the trial period of the compensation case in the court of appeal varies depending on which city and which regional court of justice department the case falls in, this period is 1 year on average.

Appeal Process

If the decision of the Regional Court of Appeal is not final, upon the request of at least one of the parties, the file is sent to the relevant legal department of the Court of Cassation for the appellate review.

As of 2024, the appeal limit is 378.290,00 TL. Decisions below this amount are finalised at the appeal stage and cannot be appealed by the parties.

Conclusion

As can be seen, a compensation proceeding goes through many stages as explained above. This process may be concluded at the very beginning of the process with a mediation agreement, or it may be concluded after the first instance, appeal or appeal stages are passed, depending on the amount of compensation.

This content has been automatically translated into English from the Turkish original.