Civil Servant Disciplinary and Appointment Acts | İzmir

What we do in this area

Disciplinary and appointment acts concerning a public official are subject to the procedural rules of the Civil Servants Law No. 657 and of the institutions' own legislation. The office handles the preparation of the defence in a disciplinary investigation, the board objection and action for annulment against a disciplinary sanction, applications against the measure of suspension from duty, actions for annulment against appointment, transfer (naklen atama) and removal from office acts, and compensation for the financial rights arising from these acts.

This page is a subtopic of the administrative law section; the general procedure of the action for annulment is covered on the action for annulment of an administrative act page, and criminal proceedings where the disciplinary offence also constitutes a crime are covered in the criminal law section.

Common types of file

Act	Legal basis	Route of application
Warning, reprimand, salary deduction	Art. 125, Art. 126 of Law No. 657	Objection to the disciplinary board within seven days; administrative courts
Suspension of grade advancement	Art. 125, Art. 126	Objection to the high disciplinary board within seven days; administrative courts
Dismissal from the civil service	Art. 125, Art. 126, Art. 129	Administrative courts; cassation appeal available (Art. 46 of the Administrative Procedure Code, İYUK)
Suspension from duty	Art. 137 et seq.	Administrative courts; application to the administration for lifting the measure
Transfer and change of location	Art. 72, Art. 76	Administrative courts; request for a stay of execution

How the process works

The disciplinary investigation is initiated by the disciplinary superior upon learning of the act; the investigator gathers the evidence and requests the civil servant's defence; less than seven days may not be allowed for the defence, and no sanction may be imposed without taking the defence (Art. 130). Warning, reprimand and salary deduction sanctions are imposed by disciplinary superiors; suspension of grade advancement by the superior with appointing authority upon the decision of the disciplinary board; and dismissal from the civil service by the high disciplinary board (Art. 126). A civil servant for whom dismissal is sought may examine the investigation file, have witnesses heard and present a defence before the board through a representative (Art. 129).

The period for objecting to the sanction decision before the disciplinary board or the high disciplinary board is seven days from notification; the objection authority decides within thirty days, and if the objection is accepted the sanction may be reduced or lifted (Art. 135). The objection is not mandatory; an action may be filed directly within the applicable sixty-day period. A timely board objection suspends that period; after refusal or expiry of the statutory waiting period, only the unused portion resumes (Art. 11 İYUK). The court reviews the limitation period, the right of defence, whether the act matches the statutory definition, and the proportionality of the sanction.

The administration may transfer civil servants, according to the requirements of the service, to posts within the institution in the same or another location (Art. 76); this discretion is limited by the public interest and the requirements of the service. In the practice of the Council of State (Danıştay), the appointment must rest on a concrete requirement of the service and must not serve as a punishment; family unity and health grounds are assessed within the framework of the relevant regulation (Art. 72). A civil servant appointed to a post in another location must set off within fifteen days of notification of the appointment order and start work within the working day following the travel period (Art. 62); a person who fails to start without a compelling reason may be given an additional ten days without pay, and a civil servant who still fails to start at the end of this period is deemed to have resigned (Art. 63).

Time limits and points to watch

The power to impose a disciplinary sanction lapses if the investigation is not started within one month of learning of the act for warning, reprimand, salary deduction and suspension of grade advancement, and within six months for dismissal from the civil service; in any event, the power ends if no sanction has been imposed within two years of the commission of the act (Art. 127). If a sanction is annulled by a court, Article 127 permits a new assessment consistent with the judgment within the remaining limitation period or, if that period has expired or less than six months remain, within six months of receipt of the judgment by the administration. The periods for decision are fifteen days for disciplinary superiors, thirty days for the disciplinary board and six months for the high disciplinary board (Art. 128).

Suspension from duty, where ordered for the purposes of disciplinary proceedings, lasts at most three months, and if no decision has been taken by the end of this period the civil servant is returned to duty; a measure ordered on account of criminal proceedings is reviewed every two months (Art. 145). A suspended civil servant is paid two thirds of the salary (Art. 141). Warning and reprimand sanctions may be removed from the personnel file five years after their application, and salary-deduction and suspension-of-grade-advancement sanctions after ten years, upon application and assessment of the statutory conditions. Dismissal from the civil service is excluded from this removal procedure (Art. 133).

Appointment, transfer and change of duty and title acts are not regarded as acts whose effect is exhausted upon enforcement within the meaning of Article 27 İYUK; the stay of execution is decided after the administration's defence has been received. Upon an annulment judgment the civil servant returns to the former post and the financial rights lost during this period are paid (Art. 28 İYUK).

How we work

The office enters the disciplinary file at the defence stage; the defence is written so as to form the groundwork for the subsequent objection and petition. In appointment files the reasons for the act, the staffing position and the documents supporting the grounds of excuse are gathered; the petition is submitted with a request for a stay of execution, and payment of the financial rights after annulment is followed up. Our working method is described on the how we work page.

FREQUENTLY ASKED

What people ask about this area

Should I first object to the board against a disciplinary sanction, or can I file an action directly?

The board objection is not mandatory; an action for annulment against a disciplinary sanction may be filed directly before the administrative court. If an objection is preferred, it is made within seven days of notification (Article 135 of Law No. 657) and suspends the sixty day filing period under Article 11 of the Administrative Procedure Code (İYUK). The objection authority decides within thirty days; when the objection is refused or left unanswered, the action is filed within the remaining period. If the objection is accepted, the sanction may be reduced or lifted.

A sanction was imposed without taking my defence, is this alone a ground for annulment?

Yes. No disciplinary sanction may be imposed on a civil servant without taking the defence, and less than seven days may not be allowed for the defence (Art. 130). Failure to state clearly the act alleged in the request for a defence, or failure to allow time, produces the same result. A procedural defect of this kind requires annulment of the act regardless of whether the act is established; after the annulment judgment, the administration may conduct a new investigation in accordance with the procedure within the remaining limitation period or the special six-month period provided by Article 127 where applicable.

I have been transferred to another province, do I have to go if I file an action?

Filing an action does not stop the enforcement of the appointment act; the civil servant must set off within fifteen days of notification of the appointment order and start work within the working day following the travel period (Art. 62); a person who fails to start without a compelling reason may be given an additional ten days without pay, and a civil servant who still fails to start at the end of this period is deemed to have resigned (Art. 63). The request for a stay of execution is submitted together with the petition; since appointment acts are not regarded as acts whose effect is exhausted upon enforcement, the decision is given after the administration's defence has been received (Article 27 of the Administrative Procedure Code, İYUK). Until the decision is given, work continues at the new place of duty.

Criminal proceedings have been brought against me, can a disciplinary sanction also be imposed?

Yes. The fact that prosecution has begun before a criminal court over the same incident does not delay the disciplinary investigation, and whether or not the civil servant is convicted under the criminal law does not prevent the disciplinary sanction from being applied separately (Art. 131). That said, a criminal court's factual finding that the act was not committed is taken into account in the action for annulment against the disciplinary sanction. The two files are planned together and the defences are conducted consistently with each other.

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