Accelerated procedure for internatioanal protection aplications

Under the Law No. 6458 on Foreigners and International Protection (LFIP), asylum seekers arriving in our country must personally apply to the provincial governorate of their location to obtain international protection status. Pursuant to LFIP, international protection applications are processed under two procedures: the regular procedure and the accelerated procedure. However, there are notable distinctions between these two procedures in terms of the timeframes for processing applications and the procedural safeguards afforded to applicants. Under the accelerated procedure, in certain cases, decisions on international protection are reached more rapidly. According to the initial paragraph of article 79 of the LFIP, the grounds for applying the accelerated procedure include: failing to raise any issues requiring international protection during the application; misleading authorities by using false or misleading documents, or by failing to present documents that could influence the decision; deliberately destroying or disposing of identity or travel documents to hinder the determination of identity or nationality; being under administrative detention for deportation; submitting an application solely to delay or prevent the enforcement of a deportation decision; creating a risk to public order or public security,, or having previously been deported from Turkey for such reasons; and reapplying after the application was considered withdrawn. According to the second paragraph of article 79, the applicant must be interviewed within three days from the date of application, and the decision on the application must be made within five days following the interview. Applications subject to the accelerated procedure are presumed to be unfounded by default, although applicants are given the opportunity to rebut this presumption. Decisions made under the accelerated procedure (Article 79 of LFIP) can be challenged before the administrative court; however, LFIP stipulates that the decisions rendered by the court in this regard are final. Consequently, if the administrative court upholds the decision and rejects the applicant's objection, the applicant will not have the possibility to appeal to a higher judicial authority. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the theoretical principles and practical uses of the accelerated procedure alongside the decisions of local courts, identifying the legal concerns and practical issues arising from its implementation. Furthermore, it seeks to propose solutions to address these concerns. Within this framework, particular focus will be placed on Article 80/1-d of the LFIP, which restricts legal remedies for appeals against article 79 decisions, creating the risk of rights violations.