(extracts from the UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD INITIAL STATE REPORT TURKEY 1999 - ANKARA)

Article 1 of the CRC defines children as "Persons who have not completed their eighteenth year of age, unless under the law applicable to the child, do not attain legal age." This definition covers the concept of the "minor" used in the Turkish Civil Code.

According to the Turkish legal system, the moment at which personality is acquired is of great significance, as far as the rights and responsibilities and the protection of children are concerned. According to article 27 of the Turkish Civil Code, personality starts from the moment of the child's complete and live birth.

The acquisition of personality is very important particularly in cases of inheritance since the successor must be alive at the time of testator's decease. A newborn becomes a successor even if he/she lives one moment after the birth. A stillborn infant, on the other hand, does not have this privilege.

An extension of the capacity concept, laid down in article 8 of the Turkish Civil Code, is found in the Civil Procedure Law, the article 82 of which gives the right to become a party in a lawsuit.

Likewise, article 58 of the Civil Procedure Law and article 27(2) of the Turkish Civil Code entitle even the fetus to become a party in a lawsuit provided that it is subsequently born alive. In this case, the trustee appointed for the fetus may establish a lawsuit on its behalf under article 298 of the Turkish Civil Code and article 492 of the Civil Procedure Law. Such lawsuits become void if a stillbirth occurs later. If, on the other hand, the lawsuit ends prior to birth and the infant is subsequently born dead, the verdict becomes void.

Although personality is acquired at the moment of birth, the Turkish Civil Code also protects the unborn infant. Article 27(2) of the said Code protects the fetus in a general manner with the statement that "A child enjoys civil rights from the moment of conception if it is subsequently born alive.”

This provision entails several practical results. In fact, if there is an unborn infant among the successors, the birth is waited for before the inheritance is decided upon as stated in article 584 of the Code. Similarly, a paternity case may be established by a court-determined trustee prior to birth in the case of pregnancies out of wedlock, under article 296.

Although article 11 of the Turkish Civil Code sets the completion of the eighteenth year of age as the beginning of legal age, a person could be accepted as having legal age in an earlier age by means of a marriage or court verdict.

One may also acquire an early legal age by a court verdict under article 15 according to which a 15-year-old minor may be declared as having legal age with his or her consent and the parents' approval. If the minor is under guardianship, the guardian will also be heard on the matter. The judge will, under article 12 of the Code, deliver a verdict by taking into account the best interests of the child.

These provisions of the Turkish Civil Code display a similarity with the general principles laid down in article 1 of the CRC.

The Civil Code lays down the minimum age for getting married as 18. However, with the consent of the parents, this limit can be 17 years of age for males and 15 years of age for females. Irrespective of these limits, the judge may permit the marriage of a 15-year-old male with a 14-year-old female for important reasons and under exceptional circumstances under article 88 of the Code.

Decisions concerning legal and medical matters are closely linked to the concept of legal capacity.

A person's legal capacity is his/her power to acquire rights and/or contract debentures by acts and actions of his/her own will. For this reason, only persons having certain qualifications are deemed to have legal capacity.

This capacity also entails the ability to perform legal actions, to be responsible for illegal actions, and to appear in lawsuits as defendant and plaintiff or respondent.

A person will be deemed as having legal capacity only if he/she is capable of making judgements and is of legal age without a guardian, pursuant to article 14 of the Civil Code.

Children under 18 years of age are either partially or completely incompetent, depending on whether they have discernment power or not. The Civil Code does not specify when the child will acquire the discernment power and leaves it to the judge’s discretion to decide whether he/she possesses it or not.

According to article 262 of the Civil Code, "The child is under his or her parents' guardianship, which may not be taken away from them without legally valid reasons.” Article 354 requires the appointment of a custodian to any child who is not under guardianship.

Since a minor who lacks discernment power or who is not under guardianship or tutorship is deemed to be completely incompetent, he may not create rights or debentures by his/her own acts, with some exceptions. The law refuses to grant legal capacity to children, with the sole aim of protecting them. All legal acts of the children who are wholly incapable are performed for them by their guardians or tutors.

Children deemed to be completely incompetent likewise do not have the right to establish lawsuits according to article 38 of the Civil Procedure Law. Children in this category are represented in lawsuits by their guardians or tutors.

Minors having discernment power may perform some legal acts on their own without the need for the acquiescence of their legal representatives:

1. If the legal act does not create an obligation for the child and generates only a benefit, it is permitted under article 16 of the Civil Code.

 

2. Minors with discernment power may likewise perform a number of acts closely related to their personalities and establish lawsuits pursuant to article 16 of the Civil Code. They may, for example, initiate paternity cases or legal age claims.

 

3. If a minor is granted the permission to enter into a trade or profession by his/her guardian or, in case a tutorship is involved, by the local magistrate's court, he or she may proceed with the follow-up of the claims and debentures arising thereof under the articles 283, 284, 396 and 40(7) of the Civil Code.

 

4. Where the minors are allowed to establish separate residences and to live there, they will be allowed to perform all activities to meet the needs thereof and to personally appear in lawsuits.

Neither minors, even if they have discernment power, nor their legal representatives are allowed to bequeath their property, establish foundations and become guarantors, under the provisions of article 392 of the Civil Code.

Acts and actions not stated above and not incurring debentures for the minors may be performed by the guardians or tutors of minors or the minors may personally do so with the approval of their guardians or tutors.

Minors having discernment power are responsible for the losses and damages incurred by their illegal acts under article 16 of the Civil Code.

When minors having discernment power require any medical intervention, in principle, the approval of their guardians or tutors is not needed since the right to consent thereto is an exclusively personal one. However, article 70 of the Law No. 1219 on the Practice of Medicine and Its Branches seeks the approval of the guardians or tutors of the minors prior to such interventions, irrespective of whether they are under restriction.

The reason underlying the requirement for the consent of legal representatives or tutors for such interventions on the minors is the fact that they need to be protected and that their interests should be defended by their legal representatives. Article 263 of the Civil Code seeks the consent of the parents for such interventions, and in case of disagreement between them, that of the father under article 263 or, where the father is deceased or unavailable, that of the mother, and in case they are divorced, that of the party to whom the guardianship is granted is seeked under article 264. In situations where the parentage is determined by a paternity verdict or adoption, consent of the parents having the guardianship or of the adoptive ones will be sought under article 312. For the minors who do not have any parentage relationships with the father, the requirement will be the consent of the mother for such medical interventions, if the mother is assigned as guardian by the court, pursuant to article 311. Consent for the adopted minors will be given by the adoptive parents under article 257.

If the minor is placed under tutoring in accordance with the provisions of article 354 of the Civil Code, consent of the tutor will be sought.

Article 70 of the Law No. 1219 on the Practice of Medicine and Its Branches states that "Consent will not be sought for the medical interventions where there are no guardians or tutors or where they are not available or where the minor is not in a position to make statements."

However, the physicians under such circumstances are deemed to be persons performing a task without authorization according to article 410 of the Code of Obligations.

If the legal representative of the minor is a tutor refusing to consent to medical care considered necessary for the minor's health, the physician may appeal to the court for obtaining a decision for hospitalization under article 272 of the Civil Code.

If, on the other hand, the minor's legal representative is a guardian, the physician is entitled to report the matter to the competent magistrate's court under article 404 and obtain a verdict for hospitalization pursuant to article 431.

In urgent cases, the refusal of the minor's legal representative to give the required consent will not prevent the physician from performing the interventions as appropriate who will not have any responsibility arising therefrom since the refusal to give consent will in this case constitute the abuse of a right according article 2(2) of the Civil Code. In fact, article 3 of the Medical Deontology Regulations place the physicians under the responsibility of performing the interventions required under emergency situations.

Article 6 of the Law No. 2827 on Birth Control requires, for abortions, the consent of the pregnant woman, the consent of the concerned person and the approval of her guardian in case of a minor, as well as a verdict of the competent court in case the pregnant minor under guardianship lacks discernment power. However, the consent of a pregnant minor unable to make a conscious judgement as a result of a mental disorder will not be sought. The consent will not be sought under any emergency circumstances where the life or any vital organ of the person is in danger and where obtaining a court verdict will take time. According to article 5, abortion will be done upon consent until the tenth week of the pregnancy, provided that a vital risk will not be entailed. If, on the other hand, the pregnancy dates back to more than ten weeks, abortion will be performed only if the pregnancy does or will threaten the minor's life or lead to serious disorders for the child to be born or for the consecutive generations, by a report of a physician. In emergencies requiring immediate intervention without which life or one of the vital organs is in danger, abortion will be done by a specialist without waiting for the results that are legally required.

Under article 3 of the Law No. 2238 on Organ and Tissue Removal, Preservation and Transplantation, the person from whom a tissue will be removed has to have completed his/her eighteenth year of age and has to have discernment power.

The existing provisions regarding the medical interventions on minors with discernment power and the arrangements for obtaining a female minor's and her legal representatives' consent for abortion are in conformity with the rules concerning the child's interests stated in article 3 of the CRC and with the principle of respect to the child's views, stated in article 12 of the CRC.

The Turkish Law on Primary Education repeats the constitutional provision to the effect that primary education is compulsory and free for all citizens and declares the 6 to 14 years of age bracket as the compulsory primary education period.

In 1997, in accordance with article 24 of the Basic National Education Law, primary education has been extended from 5 years to 8 years as a first step towards extending it to 11 years. This reorganization includes the reduction of the numbers of students per classroom, improving sports infrastructures, expanding computer supported education to all schools, starting to teach at least one foreign language starting from fourth grade with the utilization of audio-visual language laboratories among others. The last two years of the education curriculum includes civic and human rights courses. As this project covers about 10 million students, it has required the mobilization of immense financial and human resources. Besides the financing envisaged by the relevant regulations, a considerable amount is required and has been provided through voluntary contributions of individual citizens, institutions and the private sector. The World Bank also provided financial support to this project.

Legislation for the working age of the children is contained in several laws.

Under article 67 of the Labor Law, it is forbidden to employ children under 15 years of age, with the exception that employment in light works may be permitted to 13-year-old children if it will not adversely affect their health, school education and vocational training. On the other hand, 12 was set to be the lower age limit for working in article 173 of the General Law on Hygiene. Efforts are underway to deal with such discrepancies.

Similarly, according to article 59(1) of the National Basic Education Law, children in the primary school age but not attending an education institution may not be employed with or without pay in any public or private enterprise or in any other institution. However, article 59(2) permits the employment of children attending a primary school, provided that the attendance is proven by documentary evidence and that the employment is outside of school hours.

Night work in industry is forbidden for male children under 18 years of age and for females in all ages.

Provisions of article 174 of the General Hygiene Law are applicable to work not covered by the Labor Law. The said article forbids night work for children of 12 to 16 years of age.

According to the conclusion drawn from these two provisions together, children of 16 to 18 years of age may be employed in non-industrial work regardless of whether it is subject to the Labor Law or not.

Article 2(1) of the International Labor Organization (ILO) No. 6 and article 3(1) of the ILO Convention No. 90 prohibit night work at industrial enterprises for workers below 18 years of age. There are, however, a number of exceptions to this rule. Articles 2, 4, and 7 of the Convention No. 6 permits their employment where a breakdown occurs at the workplace or public interest dictates this. According to article 3(2) of the Convention No. 90, children over 16 years of age are allowed to be employed during the night shift if the apprenticeship or other vocational training justifies it.

Article 3(1) of the ILO Convention No. 79 forbids night employment of workers under 18 years of age.

It should be stated that the provisions of article 69 of the Turkish Labor Law are in conformity with and even go beyond the rules introduced by the ILO Conventions No. 6 and No. 90 in terms of the degree of protection provided to children, in the context of child labor.

The Turkish legislation concerning the non-industrial work for children, however, could be further improved to reach the standards set forth in the ILO Convention No. 79.

According to article 78 of the Labor Law, children under 16 years of age may not be employed in heavy and dangerous work. In addition to this, the same article states that the heavy and dangerous work that workers from 16 to 18 years of age can be employed in will be itemized by a special regulation. Article 2(2) of the Regulation on Heavy and Dangerous Work issued pursuant to this law prohibits the employment of children under 16 years of age in heavy and dangerous work. Besides this, the sub-article 1 of the same article forbids the employment of young workers of 16 to 18 years of age in jobs indicated in the table annexed to the said regulations. However, young workers who have completed their sixteenth year of age and who are graduates of schools providing vocational and specialized training and who exercise the subject of this training may be assigned to jobs stated between the 35th to 62nd lines of the list, pursuant to the sub-articles 3 and 4.

As for marine work, the ILO Convention No. 15 ratified by Turkey on 25 May 1959 and the article 6(2) of the Marine Labor Law prohibit the employment of persons below 18 years as trimmers and stokers on board of vessels.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Security Child Labor Unit which is responsible for coordination of programs related to child labor, development of new program concepts and improving the legislation trained a selected group of inspectors on child labor. The inspection system was revised and the measures proposed by the inspectors for the improvement of the working conditions of children were implemented by using improved communication techniques. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security also started to study the effect of chemicals on children working in the leather industry, particularly for children badly affected by the solvents used in this sector.

The Ministry of Education carried out activities to increase awareness raising activities with teachers and principals in Apprenticeship Training Centers and has carried out an extensive research on the effectiveness of apprenticeship training with the aim of improving the existing systems.

In order to provide the Government with accurate information to take the necessary steps to prevent illegal child labor, the State Institute of Statistics carried out a national household survey to collect statistics on this problem.

The Metropolitan Municipality of Ankara’s Center for the Children Working on the Streets established during the first biennium of International Program for Eliminating Child Workers in Turkey provided health, education and psycho-social support to working children. The Turkish Confederation of Employer Associations organized seminars in industrial sites to increase awareness of the employers of small scale enterprises, in cooperation with Apprenticeship Schools and it has now established a Child Labor Unit in an industrial site in Istanbul to provide health, education and psycho-social services to working children.

The Confederation of Turkish Tradesmen and Handicraftsmen trained a core group of trainers to educate its members on child labor. It is also training the parents of working children on how to start and improve a business for income generation.

The Turkish Research Institute of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises and Craft Centers are developing training programs against illegal child labor for the Unions of Turkish Tradesman and Handicraftsmen.

The Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions increased the awareness of its members to identify and address child labor issues in small size enterprises of the leather sector in Istanbul and established national and 6 regional action commutes against child labor. It is also training its members and working children on children's right, the impact of child labor, health, nutrition, first aid, health and working safety to improve the quality of the life of working children and their parents.

The Foundation of Vocational Training and Small Industries trained the trainers of foreman, who are the most important group for the on-job training of working children. It also carried out vocational training for children working on the streets in the southeast of Turkey.

The Development Foundation of Turkey developed a model for rural child labor which provided vocational training and income generation activities complementary to the primary school courses. It is now training the parents of working children in two regions of the country on how to start and improve a business for income generation.

The Fiţek Institute, the Foundation of Working Children, the Knowledge and Action Center provided health services for children working in the metal and automotive industries and in the leather industry, particularly shoe making sector. A mobile clinic was established for providing regular health check-up for children working in the metal and automotive industrial sites in Ankara and Istanbul in cooperation with Apprenticeship Schools.

The Foundation of Vocational Training and Small Industries provided training courses for migrant children in East Anatolia and children working on the streets.

The Human Resource Development Foundation provided training for primary school principals on child labor.

The Women’s Library and Information Center Foundation carried out research on the past and present of female child labor in domestic work.

Major Universities in Ankara raised the awareness of students on child labor.

The General Directorate of Police, Department of Security, Division of Child Protection enhanced its capacity to deliver better services to children.

Article 179(4) of the General Law on Hygiene declares that the Labor Law will specify the unhealthy work at which children between 12 and 16 years of age may not be employed. Since this provision refers to the Labor Law for heavy and dangerous work, article 78 of the Labor Law and the Regulation on Heavy and Dangerous Work are also applicable to the young workers under the Code of Obligations. The General Hygiene Law, however, adopted the guidelines set forth by the Labor Law regarding the employment of young workers in heavy and dangerous work without any special provisions on children from 12 to 16 years of age.

Article 7(2) of the European Social Charter demands that the minimum employment age on jobs identified as dangerous and unhealthy should be raised to over 15 years. Although Turkey has not ratified the European Social Charter yet, the minimum age limit is set as 16 years for heavy and dangerous work by article 78(1) of the Labor Law which is in conformity with the European Social Charter.

Some of the conventions and recommendations of the ILO introduce ad hoc provisions for heavy and dangerous work. The ILO Convention No. 115, ratified by Turkey on 7 March 1968, prohibits the employment of young workers under 18 years of age in jobs where ionizing radiation is involved and permits the employment in such jobs of those over 18 years of age on certain conditions. The Regulation on Heavy and Dangerous Work also forbids the employment of young workers in such jobs who are younger than 16 years.

The ILO Convention No. 117, which was ratified by Turkey on 30 November 1972, introduces a limitation on the heavy loads physically carried by young workers. Provisions of the Regulation on Heavy and Dangerous Work conform to this limitation.

In conclusion, it may be stated that the provisions set forth by the Labor Law and the regulations issued in accordance with it are in conformity with the ILO Conventions.

According to article 68 of the Labor Law, persons under 18 years of age may not be employed in the underground and underwater work. This provision covers all activities performed under the ground and under the water regardless of their nature.

Article 2 of the Law No. 51 on the Rights of Mine Workers at Ereðli Coal Mines states that persons under 18 years of age may not be employed within the mine. A similar provision is contained in article 173(1) of the General Hygiene Law for children under 12.

The issue of underground and underwater work has not been excluded from the scope of article 5 of the Labor Law. For this reason, they are subject to article 68 of the Labor Law. The Law No. 151 and article 173(1) of the General Hygiene Law have lost all their practical values.

The limit of 18 years of age introduced by article 68 of the Labor Law for underground work is more advanced than the terms of the provisions established by the ILO Convention No. 123 which sets the age limit as 16 years.

The local municipalities will ban, under the authority vested in them by article 176 of the General Law on Hygiene, the employment of children under 18 years of age at bars, cabarets, dance halls, cafes, bathhouses and casinos. The workplaces enumerated here are not limited. The article prohibits such employment in all entertainment centers.

Article 12(2) of the Law No. 2559 on the Duties and Powers of the Police foresees this age limit as 21. Since this constitutes an ad hoc provision, it will have precedence over the 18 years age limit contained the General Hygiene Law.

The duration of work in general is 45 hours per week under article 61 of the Labor Law and the daily duration is set at 7 1/2 hours in workplaces operating six days a week. Where work on Saturdays is half day or full day off, the daily duration will be determined by the division of 45 hours to the number of workdays. For example, an enterprise operating five days a week will have a daily work of nine hours.

In addition to this general provision, article 67(3) of the Labor Law regulates the working days of school-goers in a manner that does not interfere with their schooling and includes the school time into the 7 1/2 hours of work. Evaluated together with articles 1 and 2 of the same law, the maximum work duration of children between 13 and 15 years of age becomes 7 1/2 hours and all schooling time will be considered as time spent in work.

According to the General Hygiene Law article 173/II, the maximum work duration for children between the ages of 12-16 cannot exceed 8 hours a day. This article will primarily be applied to children in jobs which are not subject to the Labor Law. Additionally, this article can also be applied to working children of 15-16 years of age, subject to the Labor Law. It can be concluded that the General Hygiene Law article 173 is a general protective code to provide labor security for children and young people.

Therefore, the maximum daily working hours for children up to 16 years of age is 7 1/2 hours, for all young workers employed in works which are subject to the Labor Law is 7 1/2 hours. All young workers over 16 years of age are subject to the standard daily working hours of that workplace.

In order to protect the young workers who are not subject to the Labor Law, article 173 of the General Hygiene Law should be considered together with the Labor Law article 67.

There has been no general regulation in the ILO Agreements on the subject of working hours of the young workers. Only the Recommendation No. 153 is advising that the normal working hours for young marine workers should not exceed 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week.

There is regulation in the Marine Labor Law article 26, which says that the working hours should be 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week, however, there is no special regulation for young marine workers. In cases where there is no related regulation in the Marine Labor Law, the Code of Obligations, which is a general law, and the General Hygiene Law will be effective. According to the ILO Agreement No. 58 ratified by Turkey, children below 15 years of age cannot be employed on ships. If this agreement and laws are evaluated together, we will come to the conclusion that young people between 15-18 years of age can only be employed on ships for 8 hours a day.

According to the Overtime Work Regulation article 4/a, it is not allowed to make children, below the age of 15, work overtime. Young people over 15 years of age are allowed to work overtime, within legal limits.

Pauses are rest times, granted to workers within the legal daily working hours. There is no special provision in the regulations, related to the pauses for children and young workers. Children and young workers, who are subject to the Labor Law, benefit from the Labor Law article 64, related to pauses.

It is possible to apply the Code of Obligations article 334/I to children and young workers who are not subject to the Labor Law. According to this article "the employer is obliged in routine hours and days to allow the workers to rest."

According to the Law on Weekend Holidays No. 394 article 1 and the Labor Law article 41, at least one day off will be given to a worker who works 6 days a week.

The Code of Obligations article 334/I can be applied to the weekends of young workers who are not subject to the Labor Law. The Law on Weekend Holidays No. 394 can also be applied to children and young workers subject to the Code of Obligations. However, the young workers subject to the Code of Obligations cannot benefit from the weekend holiday salary, which is mentioned in the Labor Law article 41.

The Law on National and General Holidays No. 2429 is applicable to young workers who are subject to the Labor Law or the Code of Obligations. According to the Labor Law article 42, workers who are subject to this Law benefit from the general holiday salaries. However, workers who are not subject to the Labor Law cannot benefit from this right.

The ILO Agreement No. 14 on Weekend Holidays at Industrial Foundations, which was ratified by Turkey on 11.02.1946, grants 24 hours of weekend holiday for a 7-day-period (article 2/I). Turkish legislation is in harmony with this Agreement in this respect.

According to the Labor Law article 49/III, at least 18 days of paid annual leave is to be given to workers of 18 years of age or below. Although there is no special provision on paid annual leaves of young workers in the Marine Labor Law or in the Press Labor Law, young workers also benefit from the Marine Labor Law article 40 and the Press Labor Law article 21, which are related to paid annual leaves.

There is no provision on paid annual leave for young workers who are subject to the Code of Obligations.

According to the Constitution article 50/III and IV, "Resting is the right of workers. The rights and conditions of paid weekend and national holidays and paid annual leave are regulated by the law." By this article, the Constitution has accepted the paid annual leave and the paid weekend and national holidays as social rights.

The legislature has regulated the paid holiday rights by labor laws, but has not put provisions on this subject for workers who are subject to the Code of Obligations. The pre-condition of benefiting from the right of paid holidays is to work under the labor laws (Labor Law article 4). Therefore, young workers who are subject to the Code of Obligations cannot benefit from paid annual leaves and the paid holidays.

Although children and young workers who are subject to the Code of Obligations technically do not have the right to benefit from paid annual leaves and paid weekend and national holidays, they have the right to annual leaves. It has been determined by the Constitution article 50/III that rest is a legal right of the workers.

The Turkish Penal Code articles 414-416 regulate the offences of "rape" and "sexual abuse." It introduces a variety of sentences depending on whether the victim has completed his/her 15 years of age or not, or whether the victim is above 15 and below 18 years of age.

The Turkish Penal Code article 414 punishes the rape of minors below the age of 15 and article 415 punishes sexual abuse. The will of minors below the age of 15 years to get into sexual intercourse does not waive the crime or hinder the punishment.

The third paragraph of 416 foresees a less severe punishment for those who get into sexual intercourse with minors below the age of 15 who have consented, compared to the case where the intercourse takes place against the will of the minor. However, this is the case only where the victim is between the ages of 15 and 18.

According to article 2 of the Military Law No.1111, the age of military service starts on the first day of January of the year in which the person turns 20 years old. With this provision, it is clear that those who are below the age of 18 cannot be taken into military service. Boys over the age of 20 may postpone their military service if they can certify that they are continuing their education.

Testimony is regulated by the Penal Procedure Law article 45 et sequitur. In principle, according to the Penal Procedure Law article 45/I, a witness is called by a written invitation and according to 46 of the same Law, if the witness is absent at the court without stating an excuse, he/she will be brought by force.

According to the Penal Procedure Law article 47/III, "Natural relatives or relatives in law (...) of the accused can withdraw from testimony." This right is explained to the witnesses before their testimony.

According to the Penal Procedure Law article 52/I "Those under the age of 15 are listened to without taking oath." In the Civil Procedure Law article 247/I, it is also stated that minors below the age of 15 do not take oath before their testimony.

Everybody is obliged to accept testimony (Civil Procedure Law article 253). Therefore, this obligation is also the case for minor witnesses. The articles of the Civil Procedure Law, regulating the withdrawal of witnesses, are also applicable to minors.

Literate deaf and mute people and children are questioned in writing and their answers are also taken in writing. When these people are illiterate, they will be questioned by professional people (Civil Procedure Law article 270).

Under the Turkish Penal Code, the age of transition to full penal liability is 18. Nevertheless, according to the Law on Juvenile Courts, the minimum age to stand in these Courts is 15 years.

Children under 11 years of age may not be imprisoned; only security measures may be adopted against them.

Provisions of the Penal Procedure Law are applicable where a matter is not treated in the Law on Juvenile Courts under article 18 of the latter. For this reason, the Turkish Penal Code and other basic legislation will be invoked where provisions are not available in the Law on Juvenile Courts regarding arrest, detention and imprisonment.

Detention, arrest and imprisonment are subject to certain rules in articles 127 to 131 and 104 to 121 of the Penal Procedure Law, which comprises legal remedies against probable errors and arbitrary action. The use of detention, arrest and imprisonment is therefore made even more difficult with regard to children and constitute the very last resort. Rules and mechanisms should be introduced to inflict the least damage on the children.

Under article 19(2) of the Penal Procedure Law detention and arrest of children is not possible during the investigation and trial stages for misdemeanors for which the lower penalty limits do not exceed three years. Article 37, on the other hand, requires that detained or arrested minors should be kept at penitentiaries reserved for minors or, where such penitentiaries do not exist, in separate parts of the prisons for adults.

The provision of counselling services for children under trial is obligatory according to article 138 of the Penal Procedure Law.

Articles 403 et sequitur of the Turkish Penal Code deal with crimes regarding narcotics and consider the perpetration of such crimes through the employment of persons under 18 years of age or those not having penal liability as an aggravating circumstance.

Giving narcotics to persons under 18 years of age is also an aggravating circumstance under article 104.

Article 574(2) of the Turkish Penal Code is about the sale of alcoholic beverages and states that "Those providing alcoholic beverages anywhere to persons under 18 years of age or to persons with an obvious unnatural state due to mental or psychological disorder will be sentenced to imprisonment of up to two months" and adds that "the proprietor may be banned from exercising his/her trade/profession if he/she is a vendor of alcoholic beverages."

Under article 12 of the Law on Duties and Authorities of the Police, the employment of young girls and women in casinos, bars, music halls and other similar places where alcoholic beverages are served and in such facilities as bathhouses and beaches depends on the approval of the highest ranking administrative official of the area.

Males and females under 21 years of age may not, under any circumstances, be employed in such places.

Police will deny access to bars, music halls and places where alcoholic beverages are served to persons under 18 years of age, even if they are accompanied by their guardians or tutors. Alcohol and tobacco sale to persons under 18 years of age has been prohibited by governor's decrees. The ban is controlled local authorities.