WHAT DOES DEPOSITION OF THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE JUDGMENT MEAN?

Suspension of the announcement of the sentence (HAGB) is a special criminal individualization institution that requires the defendant not to implement the criminal decision within a certain control period, even if he is convicted, and not to commit a deliberate crime during this period (CMK art. 231). While in other penal individualization methods, the court decision produces some legal consequences, with the HAGB decision, the court did not announce a decision in a way that would produce results and postponed the announcement.

The HAGB decision literally offers a second chance to the defendant, without imposing any restrictions on the life, civil rights or political rights of a person who has committed a crime. This decision suspends Criminal Law intervention against a person who has committed a crime. Thus, it has minimal impact on the defendant's life.

According to the Code of Criminal Procedure, the HAGB decision is an application subject to certain conditions. These conditions are:

• The punishment given to the defendant must be imprisonment of two years or less or a judicial fine.
• The defendant's crime should not be among the exceptional crimes in special laws.
• The defendant must not have been previously convicted of an intentional crime.
• The court must believe that the defendant will not re-offend, taking into account his personal characteristics and his behavior at his trial.
• The damage to the victim or the public must be compensated by full restitution, restoration to the situation before the crime, or compensation.
• The defendant must accept the HAGB decision.
• The defendant must not have received a HAGB decision before.

How Does Hagb Deterioration Occur?

If the announcement of the verdict is postponed, the defendant is subject to supervision for 5 years. However, the supervision period for children under 18 is 3 years. During this supervision period, the defendant;

• If he does not commit a deliberate crime and acts in accordance with other obligations determined by the court, the case is dismissed and the provision whose announcement is suspended is eliminated. In this case, the person on trial returns to his/her legal status before the case.
• If the defendant commits a deliberate crime or acts contrary to the obligations determined by the judge during the supervision period, the sentence whose announcement was postponed is announced by the court. In this case, the previously suspended sentence will come into force and he will be punished additionally for the crime he has just committed.

Hagb Has Been 5 Years What Should I Do?

The defendant is subject to supervision and control for 5 years as a result of the HAGB decision. During this period, the court decides to remove the HAGB and dismiss the case, provided that the defendant fully fulfills his obligations regarding probation and does not intentionally commit a new crime. This means that the defendant's previous criminal status is eliminated and he is returned to the legal status he had before trial. At the end of 5 years, the penalty disappears without you having to take any action.

Shall it be decided to postpone the announcement of the verdict twice for the same crime?

It is not possible to make a HAGB decision twice for the same crime. While the HAGB decision offers a second chance to a person who has committed a crime, in order to have this chance, such a decision must not have been made before.

Does Postponing the Announcement of the Judgment Work on the Record?

HAGB decisions are not added to the criminal record and are kept in a unique system. For this reason, a person who receives an HAGB decision is not seen as having a criminal record in the criminal record. Since HAGB is not a conviction, it is not recorded in the criminal record and prevents the defendant from being considered guilty.

If the defendant does not commit a new intentional crime within 5 years, which is the supervision period determined by the HAGB decision, or is subject to a 1-year probation measure by the court and complies with this measure, the court decides to dismiss the case. In this case, the record regarding the HAGB decision is also removed from the system. In this way, the outcome of a second chance for the defendant allows him to return to the legal status he had before he was deemed guilty.

Is the postponement of the announcement of the verdict an obstacle to civil service?

HAGB decision given for crimes committed against the security of the state, constitutional order and crimes falling into the category of disgraceful crimes constitutes an obstacle to being accepted into civil service. If a person receives a HAGB decision for such crimes after being recruited to the civil service, his/her relationship with the civil service is terminated. However, the HAGB decision given for crimes other than the crimes mentioned above does not affect the civil service and the person can continue his civil service.

For military personnel, HAGB decisions made for crimes such as desertion, attack on superiors or superiors, insulting superiors or superiors, insistence on disobeying orders, mischief, resistance, rebellion require severance of relations with the Turkish Armed Forces. This is a measure taken to maintain military discipline and order, and military personnel receiving a HAGB decision for such offenses will lead to their dismissal from military service.

What is the Difference Between Postponing the Announcement of the Sentence and Postponing the Sentence?

HAGB and suspension of sentence are sometimes confused but different criminal law concepts. HAGB decision means that the court postpones the announcement of the verdict and does not announce the verdict at the end of the audit process. If the defendant completes the audit process successfully, the provision whose announcement is suspended will not be implemented. In this case, the HAGB decision will not have any reflection on the defendant's criminal record. HAGB decisions are kept in a separate registry apart from the criminal record records.

In case of postponement of the sentence, the court gives a verdict of conviction, but the sentence is deemed to have been executed when the sentence execution supervision period is completed. This postponement is reflected in the criminal record. In other words, since the sentence was completed outside the execution institution, this postponement decision appears in the person's criminal record. These two concepts represent practices that have different consequences in criminal law and should be separated carefully.

Has the postponement of the announcement of the verdict been removed?

With the decision made by the Constitutional Court, all provisions regarding the institution of Postponement of Announcement of Judgment (HAGB) were annulled. This decision was published in the official gazette on 01.08.2026 and will come into force 1 year later on 01.08.2026.

The Constitutional Court emphasized that if the HAGB decisions are accepted by the applicant at the beginning of the trial, the appeal legal remedy cannot be used to check whether the guarantees of the right to a fair trial are provided by the first instance court, and this may lead to violations of rights. It was stated that the defendant did not meet the constitutional validity conditions because he waived the option of appeal while accepting the HAGB decision.

You can send any questions you may have regarding the decision to postpone the announcement of the verdict to our office by filling out the form below.

Av. Mehmet Yücesoy

İzmir Attorney & Legal Consultancy