President of Court of Appeals undermines EU reports on Turkey’s progress
ANKARA
Court of Appeals President İsmail Rüştü Cirit has dismissed a country report by the European Union criticizing Turkey’s judicial practices as a “worthless piece of paper.”
Speaking at the opening day ceremony for the judicial year, Cirit recalled on Sept. 2 that the EU in its Turkey report criticized the dismissals of judges and prosecutors. Cirit said members of the justıce system who are sentenced or still under investigation should be removed from their posts as they are in all contemporary legal systems.
“There is no need to be a lawyer to know that there is no other option in contemporary legal systems,” he said.
“While the situation was so clear, the statements in the (EU) progress report, which understood the concept of ‘judicial independence’ as a commitment to a terrorist organization, turned the report into a worthless piece of paper.”
“How come the European Union, which is a political organ, puts itself in place of the Turkish Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights on what legal understanding and for what legitimate reasons?” he asked. “This attitude of the European Union is a complete scandal to be taught in law courses.”
