Turkey

  1. Under what circumstances can a stolen vehicle be seized in your country?
  • A stolen vehicle can be seized on the basis of on an entry in the Turkish database of stolen motor vehicles. Information about vehicles stolen in other countries is entered in this database if they are received through Interpol channels. A personal application to the public prosecutor’s office is another way of ensuring that a stolen vehicle found in Turkey is seized. The stolen motor vehicle database is linked to the vehicle registration system and can be consulted by every police department in the whole of Turkey.
  1. What channels are used to notify the owner of the vehicle’s location (Interpol or other)?
  • Interpol channels and some private channels (for example the Turkish Mercedes Benz and BMW offices, etc.) are used to notify the owner of the vehicle’s location.
  1. Who is responsible for the storage of seized vehicles?
  • The public prosecutor’s office is responsible for the storage of seized vehicles. Municipal administrations, the customs and police departments (if they have room in their car parks) can supply storage facilities.
  1. Are there any costs associated with storage of a seized stolen vehicle and who is responsible for these costs?
  • Parking costs associated with storage of a seized stolen vehicle are paid by the rightful owner if the latter recovers the vehicle. No fee is payable if the vehicle is stored by the police or public prosecutor’s office in their parking lots.
  1. How does a stolen vehicle get restored to its legal owner?
    a) Do the police have authority to restore the vehicle?
  • If a stolen vehicle is found abandoned, the police have the authority to restore it to its owner.

b) Is it the local court who authorises release of the vehicle?

  • In any other circumstances, the decision about releasing the vehicle is taken by the local criminal court.

c) Is it necessary to have a “commission rogatoire” to recover the vehicle?

  • Letters rogatory are needed for recovery of the vehicle. If the registered rightful owner applies directly to the appropriate court, that court may be able to order restitution.

d) What documentation does the owner have to provide in order to recover the vehicle?

  • The documents may vary from case to case, depending on decisions taken by the courts concerned. In general, however, the following documents are required:

a certified copy of the police report making it clear that the motor vehicle in question was stolen
proof of ownership (title, registration document, etc.)
an identity document issued to the owner (bearing a photograph)
the original keys (if available)
insurance documents.

  1. Are there any time limits associated with recovery of the vehicle? (i.e. after a certain period of time the vehicle becomes the property of the state or police, etc.)?
  • The time limit for recovering the vehicle is set at three months after the final court decision.
  1. Please give details of relevant legislation
  • The procedure is based on the following:

the Turkish criminal code
the Turkish code of criminal procedure
the Code for prevention and prosecution of smuggling
the Customs code
the regulations on criminal assets
the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in criminal matters ( Strasbourg 1959).

  1. If the law in your country precludes the restitution of a stolen vehicle to its original owner, please give the reasons why
  • As in many countries, acquisition of the vehicle by a bona fide purchaser precludes its restitution to the rightful owner except on the basis of a court decision.
  1. Does your country have any bilateral treaties, conventions, or agreements with other countries dealing with the recovery of stolen property? If so, please describe how they operate and give details of the countries concerned
  • We do not have any bilateral agreements, conventions or treaties with other countries. The European Convention on Mutual Assistance in criminal matters is most commonly applied.
  1. Reference point, for assistance in case of difficulties
    The reference point in NCB Ankara is
    Name: Mr. Tamer KÖSTEKLİ
    Tel: 0090 312 412 29 36
    Mobile: 0090 505 218 38 35
    Fax: 0090 312 466 90 21
    E-mail: tkostekli@egm.gov.tr
    Postal address: Emniyet Genel Müdürlügü, İnterpol-Europol-Sirene Dairesi Başkanlığı 06100 Dikmen/Ankara/Türkiye

Last update: November 2008