Lawyers to acquire special passport after regulation issued

ANKARA

A lawyer who has been a senior for at least 15 years and is registered with a bar association will be able to acquire a special green passport, a regulation published on Jan. 17 showed and outlined the rules and procedures.

The Interior Ministry specified the rules and procedures for lawyers to obtain special passports, with a publication on the Official Gazette.

Within the new regulation, bar associations will prepare the necessary documents along with an official form requesting the passport for their members and will refer them to relevant institutions.

Request forms without the signature of authorities will not be put into process, according to the regulation.

The regulation stipulates that lawyers who have been seniors for at least 15 years and is registered to the bar association will have the chance to request a special passport.

Nevertheless, lawyers who went through investigations or legal proceedings regarding offenses against “the nation, the state and its security, the Constitutional order and its mechanisms, national defense and the secrets of state” will not be able to utilize the regulation.

Lawyers who faced charges of espionage or terror are also not eligible to obtain the special passport.

The regulation is part of the Judicial Reform Strategy Document, whose first package was adopted by the Turkish Parliament on Oct. 17, 2019.

The 39-article-bill oversaw amendments in 15 pieces of legislation and tackled many areas from sexual harassment to freedom of expression.

Lawyers’ ability to acquire a special green passport was first introduced with the said bill.