Gov’t to finalize judiciary reforms
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 26, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - The government yesterday said it was planning to conclude a strategy document to reform the judiciary by the end of next week, thus meeting one of the European Union demands before the presidency passes to Sweden on July 1.
"We are willing to speed up the works of our Justice Ministry on ’The Strategy for the Judiciary Reform’ and conclude it by the end of June," Cemil Çiçek, government spokesperson told reporters following a weekly council of ministers’ meeting.
The judiciary reform includes the re-composition of the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors, or HSYK, to make it more independent. Judges and prosecutors argue the membership of the justice minister and his undersecretary to the council was against the nature of the body and in contradiction with EU criterion. The reform would also aim to establish specialized courts and some measures to reduce the heavy load work of the ordinary courts.
"It will be finalized after the necessary evaluations of our judicial institutions are concluded. There is no need to be disturbed by the government’s draft. There could be some shortcomings. It will only be mature after a general evaluation of the draft," Çiçek said. He also said that the government had decided to speed up work on its anticorruption strategy, another EU demand for Turkey. This work should be finalized and adopted by the Parliament before July 1, the date when the Parliament will suspend its works for three months.
Promises
"We are trying to fulfill our promises and we are expecting the same thing from the EU," Çiçek said when asked about some EU leaders’ oppositions to Turkey’s full membership. "If the EU has the principle of pacta sunt servanda, then we expect them to keep their words."
Turkey will not be a burden to the EU, he stated, but an important opportunity for the organization to turn into a strategic union. "We don’t want favor from the EU but just to be treated fairly."
The judiciary reform includes the re-composition of the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors, or HSYK, to make it more independent. Judges and prosecutors argue the membership of the justice minister and his undersecretary to the council was against the nature of the body and in contradiction with EU criterion. The reform would also aim to establish specialized courts and some measures to reduce the heavy load work of the ordinary courts.
"It will be finalized after the necessary evaluations of our judicial institutions are concluded. There is no need to be disturbed by the government’s draft. There could be some shortcomings. It will only be mature after a general evaluation of the draft," Çiçek said. He also said that the government had decided to speed up work on its anticorruption strategy, another EU demand for Turkey. This work should be finalized and adopted by the Parliament before July 1, the date when the Parliament will suspend its works for three months.
Promises
"We are trying to fulfill our promises and we are expecting the same thing from the EU," Çiçek said when asked about some EU leaders’ oppositions to Turkey’s full membership. "If the EU has the principle of pacta sunt servanda, then we expect them to keep their words."
Turkey will not be a burden to the EU, he stated, but an important opportunity for the organization to turn into a strategic union. "We don’t want favor from the EU but just to be treated fairly."