‘Power of judiciary not absolute,’ top justice official says

In an exclusive interview with Today’s Zaman, Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin said if the judiciary is politicized, both democracy and freedom will be at the risk of vanishing. “The judiciary is entrusted with correct application of laws, and its independence is ensured within this realm,” he said, stressing that the power to judge is not absolute but rather a limited one just like executive and legislative powers. “Because judges are applying legislative decisions to their rulings,” he added.

Commenting on the recent discovery of a plot called the Cage Operation Action Plan, which involved a group of members of the Naval Forces Command and aimed at intimidating the country’s non-Muslim population by assassinating some of their prominent figures and in this way undermining the power of the ruling party, Ergin said he was perturbed by the details of the plan. “If you look at the claims and the content of this alleged plot, it is hair-raising,” he noted, adding however that the plot is still being investigated and prosecutors are looking into the matter.

“The truth will be revealed after the independent justice system completes its work. The important thing here is that nobody is untouchable and able to act with impunity. Whoever commits a crime, be it a politician, bureaucrat, police, soldier or regular citizen, will be held accountable to the fullest degree in front of the laws and within the independent justice system” the minister stated. Ergin further emphasized that judges and prosecutors should be able to do their job without any interference or under the influence and follow the concrete evidence. “If there is only hearsay or rumors, justice will not perform its duty. Only with through evidence, findings and knowledge which would be unearthed during the course of investigation does the justice perform what is expected of her” he underlined.

Asked how he responds to allegations that the government is interfering with judges and prosecutors, Ergin said his ministry is tasked by the Constitution to make sure officers of justice comply with the law when they are performing official duties. “Just because the judges and prosecutors are independent, that does not mean they can disregard procedural rules and flagrantly violate laws,” he said. “The supremacy of justice does not imply the supremacy of judges,” Ergin argued, adding that legal rules and superior laws limit all officers of the law, including judges and prosecutors.

To make his case, Ergin also provided one account of illegal eavesdropping in a township located in the Black Sea region, in the north. According to him, a prosecutor who had intimate relations with a paralegal working in his office secured a warrant from a friendly judge to wiretap conversations by the paralegal’s husband. After the truth was revealed, the Justice Ministry suspended the prosecutor pending the completion of investigation. On another two occasions, courtroom employees forged judges’ signature to get a wiretap warrant.

Cynical approach by some judges, lawyers

Dismissing reports that the government is illegally sanctioning the eavesdropping of its citizens, including some judges and prosecutors, the justice minister said all decisions are under the strict oversight of the courts. “A judge should carefully examine the request and allow wiretapping only after satisfying the criteria laid down in the law,” he said. He also warned that some private companies and organizations are importing high-tech eavesdropping equipment and using these instruments to blackmail people. “We have to recognize that illegal eavesdropping is an illness we have to deal with in this country,” Ergin argued.

The official also pointed out a cynical approach adopted by some judges and prosecutors when it comes to fighting illegal wiretapping charges. During the course of the investigation into the Ergenekon case, which probes a clandestine network that allegedly plotted to create havoc in the country by using arms and bombs, hoping to topple the government with a military coup, it was revealed that the group illegally tapped into the phones of high-profile judges and prosecutors, including ones assigned to the Supreme Appellate Court, and closely monitored them.

To boost the case, Ergenekon prosecutors asked all judges and prosecutors believed to have been wiretapped if they were willing to file a complaint. “As far as I know, only one person agreed to file charges,” the justice minister said. “This is all illegal wiretapping. So many judges and prosecutors were in this evidence folder. I do not understand why they are remaining silent against this outrageous revelation,” he underlined, adding, “We have not seen any serious reaction or complaint.”

In contrast, however, the minister complained that some judges, bar associations and high judicial bodies are openly taking positions against legally sanctioned wiretapping practices. Ergin also took the occasion to discredit reports claiming that the phones of some 11,000 members of the judiciary are being tapped by the government. “In the last five years, only 69 judges and prosecutors were wiretapped with court permission,” he explained, stressing that the practice is not new.