Appointing a trustee for the administration of a firm (Turkish Criminal Procedure code, article 133)

The importance of companies in our social and economic life is steadily increasing day by day. Criminals use companies as covert so that they can destroy evidence related to the crime they committed or make gathering evidence difficult for the authorities. Seizing the administration of a firm is necessary to stop criminal activities, collect evidence and ensure that it is applicable if a confiscation decision is made. Appointing a trustee for the administration of a firm has become a part of Turkish legal system with Article 133 of the Criminal Procedure Law No. 5271 as the result of this necessity. Considering that the companies have shareholders, workers, and business relationships, it is obvious that companies have important effects on several people's lives. During the implementation of the measure, it is aimed to prevent the loss of company's value and thus not to negatively impact these people and economy in broader aspect. In the first chapter of our study, how the trusteeship is regulated in Turkish law in general, legal nature of the concept of trusteeship in Turkish law and its field of application especially based on the regulations in the Turkish Civil Code, the link between the appointing a trustee for the administration of a firm with the fundamental rights and freedoms are analyzed. In the second chapter, the general characteristics of the protection measures, the principles of criminal procedure law pertinent to this measure, the regulations in Turkish law about the appointing a trustee for administration of a firm as a protective measure are mentioned. In the third chapter, the purpose, general requirements, and the appointment procedure of the measure, and when to end the implementation of the measure are examined. In the fourth chapter, the rights and responsibilities of the appointed trustee, the legal remedy against the court's decision for the appointing a trustee, the objection against the trustee's decisions, whether the trustee can represent the company during the criminal procedure, procedure and conditions of the compensation request due to this protection measure are discussed. In our study, the situation in practice are examined through analyzing the recent Supreme Court, regional court and local court decisions and criticisms towards the measure and court decisions expressed in the doctrine. We tried to point out the problematic issues regarding the legislation and the implementation of the measure and to propose solutions to these matters. Keywords: Criminal Procedure, Protective Measures, Trustee, Company.