Turkish Court Rules That Parties Must Specifically Identify Sworn Testimony As Evidence

The highest body within Turkey's Court of Cassation recently ruled that parties cannot present an oath as evidence if this sworn testimony was not listed as evidence. The prohibition applies even is the party's court application includes catch-all wording, such as "other evidences, any other evidence" to allow further evidence submission. The decision applies to cases filed after 4 February 2011, the enforcement date of the Civil Procedure Code numbered 6100 ("Civil Procedure Code").

The Civil Procedure Code requires parties to specify the facts which they rely on for their claims (Article 194). That is, parties must explicitly state their evidence, as well as identify which claims each piece of evidence supports. This rule was not included in earlier legislation (Civil Procedure Code numbered 1086).