Former high court head elected chief public inspector

ANKARA

The former head of the Court of Appeals, Mehmet Akarca, has been elected as Türkiye's chief public inspector in a parliamentary vote.

Akarca secured 264 out of 276 votes in the fourth round of the election. He will succeed Şeref Malkoç, whose term will conclude on Dec. 5.

Malkoç was initially appointed as chief public inspector on Nov. 15, 2016, and reelected on Nov. 11, 2020.

Born in the southeastern city of Siirt in 1963, Akarca graduated from Dokuz Eylül University’s Faculty of Law and became a member of the Court of Appeals in 2010.

In 2013, he was appointed as head of one of its criminal chambers and was later nominated by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in 2015 to serve as the chief public prosecutor of the high court. He held this position until his retirement on May 14. 

Following his departure, the Court of Appeals also held an election for its presidency, which concluded in 51 days

Ömer Kerkez, who was leading the court’s third civil chamber, was elected president on the 37th voting round with 193 out of 348 votes cast by court members. Kerkez will serve a four-year term.