Judicial System in Turkey
Judicial System in Turkey
Judicial System in Turkey is struggling for reliability nowadays more than ever due to closure case, or indictment against AKP. Many of the polls in Turkey shows that majority of people in Turkey do not rely on Judiciary*. A recent criticism came from European Parliament member Ria Oomen-Ruijten regarding Judicial System in Turkey.
Christian Democrat MEP Ria Oomen-Ruijten said Thursday there is no judiciary in Turkey that every one can rely on.
“Turkey needs to work on this matter,” Oomen-Ruijten, who is also Turkey rapporteur of the European Parliament (EP), said during a meeting at the External Relations Committee of the EP in which MEPs discussed a draft report on Turkey.
Oomen-Ruijten said Turkish parliament decided to free headscarf in universities with two-third majority but this decision cannot be implemented. “I do not know any other country like this. I am for the independence of the judiciary but there is no judiciary in Turkey that every one can rely on,” she said.
Oomen-Ruijten also said she is totally against the closure of the Justice and Development (AK) Party and the Democratic Society Party (DTP).
“This problem can be overcome by making rapid reforms concerning the judiciary,” she stressed.
On the other hand, Joost Lagendijk, the co-chair of Turkey- EU Joint Parliament Committee, said judiciary considers ‘wrong” the preference of majority of the nation and this is unacceptable. Lagendijk said the EU should strongly ask for a judicial reform in Turkey.
The draft report recommends Turkey to provide a large participation of NGOs in efforts to prepare a new constitution, and asks Turkey to amend the Article 301 of TCK as soon as possible.
Condemning the acts of the terrorist organization PKK, the draft asks the PKK to lay down arms without any precondition.
The draft calls on Iraqi government and the regional administration in Iraq not to “allow PKK to use its territories as a base for terrorist attacks against Turkey.”
On Cyprus problem, the draft report says that a comprehensive solution should be found under the auspices of the UN.
The report does not touch on Armenian allegations regarding the incidents of 1915, and calls on the European Commission and Turkey to launch negotiations on a visa simplification agreement.
The EP is expected to vote the report in a plenary session in May.
It is obvious that Turkey should make a political reforms regarding Judicial System. Political reforms are seen by Turkish people as a necessity not because European Union wantstowards Accession to Europe.
* In the law, the judiciary or judicial system is the system of courts which administer justice in the name of the sovereign or state, a mechanism for the resolution of disputes.
The term is also used to refer collectively to the judges, magistrates and other adjudicators who form the core of a judiciary, as well as the support personnel who keep the system running smoothly. Under the doctrine of the separation of powers, the judiciary is the branch of government primarily responsible for interpreting the law. It is the level that makes laws.
