Turkish criminal law now better - German expert
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Johannes Hillje
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 16, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL- Experts at the third Turkish-German symposium expressed concerns about the diffused status of a common criminal law code within the European Union and new challenges for national legal systems of criminal law at Yeditepe University in Istanbul over the weekend.
"The new Turkish criminal law code works quite well, but minor adjustments are natural," said Dr. Hilgendorf, who is at the forefront of cooperation between Yeditepe and the University of Würzburg. He particularly welcomed the changes made to the controversial Article 301 in the Turkish Penal Code, which deals with insults to "Turkishness."
Another issue debated at the symposium was the development of the Turkish legal system and the influences on it. Historically, the German system has always influenced the Turkish system, Dr. Ünver from Yeditepe University said. In the 1920s, shortly after the foundation of the Turkish Republic, the civil law code was adopted from Switzerland, which itself was based on German law. In 2005, German experts were involved in the reformation of Turkish criminal law and parts of it were again adopted from German law, Ünver said. Turkish law changed due to the EU accession process. According to Dr. Ümit Kocasakal from Istanbul’s Galatasaray University, the EU’s legislative branch is so complicated it enables the Turkish government to legitimize almost any new regulations by saying it is to fulfill European obligations.
Another issue debated at the symposium was the development of the Turkish legal system and the influences on it. Historically, the German system has always influenced the Turkish system, Dr. Ünver from Yeditepe University said. In the 1920s, shortly after the foundation of the Turkish Republic, the civil law code was adopted from Switzerland, which itself was based on German law. In 2005, German experts were involved in the reformation of Turkish criminal law and parts of it were again adopted from German law, Ünver said. Turkish law changed due to the EU accession process. According to Dr. Ümit Kocasakal from Istanbul’s Galatasaray University, the EU’s legislative branch is so complicated it enables the Turkish government to legitimize almost any new regulations by saying it is to fulfill European obligations.