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Controversial ruling opens HSYK structure to debate
Speaking to Today’s Zaman, Osman Can, a Constitutional Court rapporteur and the co-chairman of the newly established Judges and Prosecutors Association for Democracy and Freedom, noted that the HSYK, with its current structure, is the product of military coups, adding that the institution should be restructured so that its members are elected by Parliament.
“Western democracies experienced similar problems years ago, and the members of their HSYKs are to a great extent determined by their parliaments. We need a change in Turkey to make it possible for Parliament to have a say in the members of the HSYK. Half of the members of the HSYK should be elected by Parliament while the rest of it should be determined through elections among the new judges and prosecutors,” suggested Can.
At an extraordinary meeting, the HSYK decided to revoke the extraordinary authority of Erzurum specially authorized prosecutor Şanal as well as that of another specially authorized prosecutor in Erzurum, Tarık Gür, and public prosecutors Rasim Karakullukçu and Mehmet Yazıcı.
The board also decided to file criminal complaints against Gür, Karakullukçu, Yazıcı, Şanal and Sinan Kuş, the chief public prosecutor in Erzurum. The board’s action against Şanal came following Şanal’s probe into Erzincan Chief Public Prosecutor İlhan Cihaner, which resulted in his arrest early on Wednesday.
The HSYK’s move spurred sharp reactions in the judicial and political world, while the Supreme Court of Appeals and its chief prosecutor, Abdurrahman Yalçınkaya, the Council of State, the Bars Union and the Republican People’s Party (CHP) argued that the HSYK acted in line with its authority in its latest ruling. Many nongovernmental organizations and jurists said the HSYK overstepped its authority with the decision.
The Judges and Prosecutors Association (YARSAV) offered a different opinion regarding the structure of the HSYK. YARSAV head Emine Ülker Tarhan, who argued that the HSYK was exercising its constitutional authority, noted that the HSYK should be restructured to keep it from any political influence.
She said obstacles to the independence of the judiciary in the Constitution should be eliminated.
Urgent reform needed
Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin, who said the HSYK was acting against the Constitution and the law, said the current situation made judicial reform indispensable.
Ergin’s emphasis on “urgent judicial reform” drew attention to the Judicial Reform Strategy draft prepared by the Justice Ministry and adopted by the Cabinet last August.
The draft calls for the implementation in 2010 of many long-overdue laws that are essential to Turkey’s European Union accession process.
Change to HSYK structure
Under the title of “Strengthening of judicial independence,” the Judicial Reform Strategy draft contains amendments that would change the structure of the HSYK.
According to the draft, the HSYK would be restructured on the basis of objectivity, impartiality, neutrality and transparency.
The establishment of an effective objection mechanism to HSYK decisions and the opening of HSYK decisions to judicial review are among the reforms outlined in the draft.
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