Judiciary also needs independence from internal pressure, says Ergin

“The package aims to provide full independence and impartiality for the judiciary as well as boosting the professional quality of jurists and public confidence in judicial bodies. There is full compromise on all of those points. However, there is an ongoing debate as to the planned structure of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors [HSYK]. The board stands as the single body that shapes the structure of the Turkish judiciary,” the minister told reporters on Saturday.

Ergin met with dozens of Turkish and foreign journalists for a meeting organized by the Medialog Platform, an entity affiliated with the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) that works to arrange opportunities for members of the media to discuss new projects and exchange opinions. The minister was releasing the details of the long-expected judicial reform package, which will introduce comprehensive reforms in line with EU requirements. The overhaul of the HSYK, which appoints court officers, is among the most contentious issues in the package. The judicial reform package is intended to prevent the HSYK from being a board that acts according to ideological impulses. The most important change in terms of the guarantees of judges and prosecutors is allowing judicial oversight of the board's decisions. In addition, procedures to select members will be designed to ensure that the HSYK represents a range of opinions, not just one view.

Ergin said the government wants to increase the number of HSYK members from seven to 21. “Executive and legislative bodies will appoint seven of them and the remaining 14 will be elected by judges and prosecutors,” he noted. According to most observers, Turkey’s higher courts exercise undue influence on judges and prosecutors.

Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin

The board is, however, strongly opposed to Parliament and the government appointing some of its members, the minister noted, adding: “The HSYK structure has no parallel in the world. According to the board, this is so because Turkey has distinct conditions.”

‘I have fought against many Şemdinli-like attempts’

The justice minister also complained that the judiciary has far exceeded the boundaries drawn for itself in the Constitution and acted as a legislative authority. “In this way, it interfered in the scope of authority of the legislative body [Parliament]. … What we are trying to do at the moment is to restructure the Turkish judiciary in line with EU criteria,” Ergin stated.

He also noted that efforts to that end would result in narrower authority for his ministry, which he contends will be for the good of the country.

“During the nine-month period I have served as the justice minister, I have faced many attempts like the Şemdinli incident. I have fought against them. I have faced such attempts during the course of the Ergenekon trial,” Ergin said.

The HSYK disbarred former public prosecutor Ferhat Sarıkaya in 2006 when he prepared an indictment against army commanders for their alleged links to a bookstore in Şemdinli. In a similar move, the board attempted last year to replace judges and prosecutors in the Ergenekon case, the investigation into a criminal organization accused of working to overthrow the government. The board was unsuccessful in its attempts. Last month, however, the HSYK stripped a specially authorized prosecutor in Erzurum of his special authority after he ordered the arrest of a chief public prosecutor on terrorism charges.

The justice minister also said the government plans to pass constitutional amendments in a week or 10 days and hold a referendum soon after. “I hope we will garner the required assistance from the opposition parties,” he said, and ruled out the prospect of the annulment of the package by the Constitutional Court.

“The Constitution says the court has the authority to monitor laws on procedural grounds. How would a court that rules in the name of the public nullify a law that is passed in the name of the public?” Ergin asked, but added that it lies in the hands of President Abdullah Gül to decide whether to proceed with a referendum on the constitutional package if it is approved by two-thirds of Parliament.

The government plans to take up to 13 of the constitutional amendments to a public vote.

Ergin also expressed regret that Parliament has failed to replace the existing Constitution with a more civilian one, but pointed to a closure case against the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) as the reason for this failure. “I wish we could have made a new constitution. We tried it in 2007. Just as we were about to share it with the public, a closure case was brought [against the AK Party]. Since then, the conditions have never been right for a new constitution. … What we are doing at the moment is to meet the urgent needs of our public,” he said.

‘Legislation regarding jailed children lies in the hands of the opposition’

The justice minister also mentioned governmental efforts to make legal amendments to improve the condition of minors in conflict with the law due to their participation in illegal demonstrations. Also known as the “stone-throwing children,” young participants in such demonstrations are tried as adults under the Counterterrorism Law and the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).

Parliament is set to discuss a newly drafted bill that envisages the retrial of minors convicted under the laws in question. The bill aims to save young protestors from lengthy terms in jail.

“There are currently 2,763 minors in jail, 342 of which are accused of throwing stones at security forces. We have taken steps to rehabilitate those children. We are also working on a number of amendments in line with the [UN] Convention on the Rights of the Child. We will ameliorate the conditions of those children, but only to the extent we persuade the opposition,” Ergin said.

He also remarked that the government has been struggling against a mindset that “protects the state against society.” “However, we believe an individual is more important,” he added.

The Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) partially oppose the planned legal changes, claiming that it would pave the way for the retrial of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader, Abdullah Öcalan, who is serving a life sentence on İmralı Island in the Marmara Sea.

Efforts to curb cronyism in public employment

In a question-and-answer session, a participant asked the minister about allegations that followers of the faith-based Gülen movement were placed in state posts, resulting in the ongoing judicial operations.

“[Fethullah] Gülen is one of our approximately 72 million citizens. Turkey respects all beliefs and ideas. Every individual has the right to express his idea in a free country. And every citizen has the right to follow any idea he likes. When it comes to allegations on the settling of certain cadres in public institutions, I can say that the government has strictly restricted such maneuvers. In the Justice Ministry, for example, hundreds of applicants who passed a written test were called for an interview for a 10-person vacancy in the past. Interviews used to result in the employment of ‘already picked’ applicants. Today, on the other hand, only around 20 applicants who make the top grades in the written test are called for an interview for such vacancies. As a result, the most successful applicants are employed,” he remarked.

Ergin also complained that Turkey has been waiting for the outcome of the EU’s screening of Turkey’s legislative process, required to open the chapter on the judiciary and fundamental rights, which began in 2005. “Though almost five years have passed, we have not received the results. We need to see those results urgently in order to do what is necessary for the opening of the chapter,” he noted.