Remarks on Turkey's Judicial Reform Strategy Document.

• Author: Kilic, Muharrem
• Position: COMMENTARY

Introduction

On May 30, 2019, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the Judicial Reform Strategy Document, the third of Turkey's structural reform documents in the field of justice. The document with the motto of "reassuring justice," was prepared by the Ministry of Justice after nearly a year of collaborative work with various stakeholders including the Supreme Court, the Union of Turkish Bar Associations, bar associations, law faculties, civil society organizations, academicians, judges, prosecutors, and lawyers.(1) Thus, unlike the preparation processes of the previous documents, this document has been laid out on the basis of more comprehensive consultations and broader participation.

Preparation processes of such documents are crucial in determining not only the competence of the final text, but also its endorsement by relevant stakeholders and the public. During the preparation of this document not only were a large number of stakeholders directly involved, but they were also encouraged to present detailed opinions and suggestions without any restrictions. The method of "situation analysis," was performed to identify the existing situations, problem areas, and public expectations, more clearly and accurately.

The normative content of the reform document has been determined with the aim of ensuring compliance with the European Union (EU) norms and international law. To this end, EU Progress Reports, Venice Commission Reports, the European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence, principles of the Council of Europe and other international organizations, as well as expert evaluations have been taken into consideration. In addition, some assessments resulting from discussions with representatives of the Council of Europe, the European Commission and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) were made for the document. The document can be considered as a practical manifestation of Turkey's efforts to internalize and institutionalize the values of the EU and to attain the ideal of a contemporary pluralist and liberal democratic political order.

Despite some ruptures, Turkey has been negotiating with the EU for harmonization with the acquis communautaire. Chapter 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights) and Chapter 24 (Justice, Freedom, Security) of the EU accession negotiations are particularly important for understanding Turkey's judicial reform strategy documents. Within the framework of these negotiations the first Judicial Reform Strategy Document was declared in 2009 to fulfill one of the informal opening criteria and covered reform steps for the period between 2010 and 2014. The second strategy document was declared in 2015. According to the objectives set in these two documents concrete reform policies were carried out within the Turkish legal system and judiciary.

The most recent document, emerging as the third roadmap of reform strategies in the judiciary presents a perspective in line with Turkey's 2023 vision. It consists of 9 main goals, 63 objectives, and 256 policy actions, all of which imply concrete steps to be taken within the Turkish judicial system. It is stated that an Action Plan would be adopted soon in order to carry out the reform process effectively and open the process up to public scrutiny.

The reform perspective of this document is structured on three main principles, namely the "development of rights and freedoms," "the European Union perspective," and "trust in the judiciary". This perspective will be evaluated below with reference to its concrete goals and objectives.

Democratic Politics and Judicial Justice

During the last 16 years the Turkish government has demonstrated its political will to consolidate the country's democratic political system through the principles of rule and supremacy of law. Turkey has carried out several structural reforms to lift restrictions on, and expand fundamental rights and freedoms. Legislative changes in the area of criminal justice and regulations in the judiciary have been thus introduced. The democratic practice has been consolidated by revising laws that lead to violations of rights and extralegal malpractices such as torture and ill-treatment. In addition, reform steps have been taken to protect and promote freedom of expression. Constitutional and legal arrangements have been made to prevent interventions of tutelary forces within the democratic political sphere. These included legislative changes to eliminate judicial activism, and the instrumentalization of the judiciary as a tutelage center.

Despite the intensity of global terrorism, the security risks that the country faces due to its geostrategic location, and the coup attempt of July 15, 2016, which threatened the constitutional order, the Turkish government has continuously shown a strong political will to strengthen the institutions...