President Erdoğan announces judicial reform

ANKARA

The government will start the system of assistant judges and prosecutors very soon and the practice will serve as a master/apprentice system, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on May 10.

“Our judges and prosecutors, who will serve as assistants for a total of three years, will thus have complete control of the system,” Erdoğan said, speaking at a ceremony for the 154th foundation anniversary of the Council of State.

The president emphasized that he had been struggling to elevate Turkey’s state of law identity since the day his party has come to the power.

The rule of law is a sine qua non of democracy, he said, adding, “As a politician who suffered from many unlawful imputations, harassment and penalties, I have been striving to strengthen the rule of law in Turkey since the day I took office.”

Through the reforms they made, the government has consolidated the rule of law across a wide area from the constitution to laws and from administrative practices to international conventions, the president stated.

The history of Turkey is full of many “bad examples where the judiciary was on the side of the putschists,” he said, adding, “Politics all over the world wants to expand its sphere of influence.”

“I honestly do not want any prosecutor, judge, or member of the judiciary in this country to come before me with an approach that is incompatible with the law,” he said and expressed his will that the members of the judiciary display this juristic stance in front of everyone, under all circumstances.

“We have all witnessed the horrifying structuring of the FETÖ treason gang within the judiciary. With the principle of judicial independence and impartiality, I hope that we will not encounter such threats,” he said.

Erdoğan said his party has made numerous attempts to introduce a brand-new constitution, “drafted with a democratic approach and written in a plain language style.”

“We even led the formation of a parliamentary committee with an equal number of members from all parties. Unfortunately, our attempt failed because of the irreconcilable and obstructive attitude of the opposition parties,” he stated.

However, the government maintains its will to get rid of the current constitution, which is a product of the coup, the president said.

“Once we find the opportunity, we will bring our country to a libertarian constitution,” he added.