Beyond Compliance: Choice Architecture and Nudging as Tools for Embedding the Méndez Principles in Turkish Criminal Procedure

Abstract

This article examines the alignment between Türkiye’s legal framework and the Méndez Principles on Effective Interviewing, highlighting strong normative protections already in Turkish constitutional, criminal procedure, and human rights law. Drawing on constitutional provisions, the Criminal Procedure Code, the Penal Code, and Türkiye’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the article demonstrates that most safeguards required for ethical, non-coercive, and scientifically grounded interviewing are formally guaranteed in Turkish law. These safeguards include the rights to silence, legal counsel, interpretation, medical examination, custody registration, judicial oversight, exclusion of coerced statements, and protections for vulnerable persons. Despite this legal robustness, gaps remain in implementation. These gaps are driven not by legislative deficiencies but by organizational, cultural, and behavioral barriers within policing and judicial institutions. The article argues that behavioral public-administration tools, particularly nudging and choice architecture, offer an evidence-based way to reduce cognitive overload, simplify procedures, and support frontline compliance. By integrating behavioral insights with the Méndez Principles, the article outlines pathways for improving investigative interviewing in Türkiye and for translating legal commitments into professional practice.