21. “Mills That Grind Defendants”: Criminal Justice System in Turkey from a Human Rights Perspective
- Author:
- Cüneyt Doğrusözlü
- Publication Date:
- 03-2012
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
- Abstract:
- As Turkey continues to call herself a democracy, in reality she is still a country that strives to become democratic. It is only recently that we have recognized the structure of Republic as a tutelary regime, and have accordingly oriented ourselves towards a mindset required to deliver the desired changes in this structure. Presumably, the most important difference between democracy and a tutelary regime materializes in the concept of “the rule of law”. This principle requires all governmental bodies, including the judiciary, to be subject to law while taking into consideration the universal rights and freedoms. In Turkey, however, and also because of its privileged position created by the present coup d’état constitution, the judiciary sees itself as the definer of the law. Seen in this light, judicial reform emerges as one of the most critical steps that needs to be taken in moving ahead with the democratization process. With this insight, judiciary has been one of the key areas on which TESEV has focused its research activities in the last four years. In studies led by Mithat Sancar, the perspectives of first judges and prosecutors, and then of the society regarding the judicial system and its function, were scrutinized. These studies were all compiled in a book and published in May 2009. In March 2010, another study was published; authored by Meryem Erdal, the study explored into the media coverage by various organizations of some specific litigations, as well as the general approach of those same organizations to the judiciary. Thereby an opportunity was created to discuss the problems of perception surrounding the judiciary system. Democratization of the judicial system, however, requires carrying out a policy of “reform” and sharing this policy with the public. Such a reform would need to evolve around two pillars: First requires reconsidering the concepts of “independence”, “impartiality” and “legitimacy” in the context of the system in its entirety and the position of the judiciary, with the aim of ensuring that they are compatible with the international norms. In this context, the relationship between the executive branch and the judiciary, the position of the judiciary between the official ideology and universal law, and election system of higher judicial bodies appear as major problematic areas. The report titled, “A Judicial Conundrum: Opinions and Recommendations on Constitutional Reform in Turkey” edited by Serap Yazıcı and released in May 2010, discussed these issues that also constitute the subject matter of the government’s judicial reform, from the point of view of universal democratic criteria, and provided a meaningful basis for the direction and framework of the reform. On the other hand, the judiciary needs not only a systemic reform, but also a new perspective as a mechanism in order to meet citizens’ need for justice. The report titled, “Access to Justice in Turkey: Indicators and Recommendations” authored by Seda Kalem and released in June 2011, explored one of the major issue areas of demand by the citizens from the judiciary: the problem of “access to justice”. TESEV Democratization Program’s third policy report on Judicial Reform titled, “Mills that Grind Defendants: Criminal Justice System in Turkey from a Human Rights Perspective”, authored by Osman Doğru delves into the problematic aspects of the criminal justice system in Turkey with a comparative approach through European Human Rights Convention’s legal framework and implementations. The report focuses on the following problematic aspects of the defendants’ rights in Turkey: detentions without indictments; prolonged pre-trial detentions and lengthy trials; prevention of defendants’ access to legal counsel and the issuance of indictments based on unlawfully obtained evidences. In addition, Osman Doğru’s report critically evaluates the treatment of this issue in the Judicial Reform Strategy, produced by the Ministry of Justice and puts forth specific policy recommendations. We hope to conduce toward covering essential elements that have to be pointed out for a judicial reform, and respond to the public need for information and discussion of the matter.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Human Rights, Law, Reform, Criminal Justice, Justice, and Judiciary
- Political Geography:
- Turkey, Middle East, and Mediterranean