Justice minister vows more reforms in new judicial year

ANKARA

Turkey will continue its efforts to reform justice and reinforce the rule of law, Justice Minister Abdülhamit Gül has said on the occasion of the beginning of the new judicial year.

“We are starting this judicial year with the reforms we made last year. In the new period, we will continue to follow our reform strategy to strengthen the rule of law and strengthen access to justice,” Gül said in a written message on Sept. 1.

The government, under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is behind its will of reforms, Gül said.

“Undoubtedly, the best reform is the implementation. I fully believe that the Turkish judiciary will continue to implement each reform in the best way in light of the principle of the rule of law based on human rights.”

Recalling that the government introduced the Judicial Reform Strategy with the motto “credible and accessible justice” and Human Rights Action Plan in the past years, Gül said, “The judiciary is the apple of the nation’s eye. Justice is the basis of property, and the basis of justice is human beings, human dignity and human rights. We see the protection of human dignity and rights as the most fundamental mission of all justice services.”

The 4th Judicial Reform Package was ratified by parliament in July. The package included new measures to combat violence against women.

Under the package, harsher punishments for the crimes of homicide, premeditated assault, torture, and deprivation of liberty committed against a spouse will now also include partners who are divorced. Also, arrests for crimes including genocide, violating the constitution, and child sexual abuse will depend on strong suspicion based on concrete evidence.

Judicial branches, except for the Constitutional Court, recessed their activities on July 20.