The judiciary is independent and impartial. Personal rights and professional safeguards form the basis of the independence and impartiality of judges and prosecutors who are members of the judiciary. However, in our country, the independence and impartiality of the judiciary generally remain only in name and even in written texts. There may be many reasons for this situation, particularly a lack of legal culture. Power struggles over the judiciary, political reckoning, maintaining power, getting or staying in a position, escaping pressure, losing control and falling from grace, the political power’s desire to intervene and direct, and lack of professional solidarity are just a few of these reasons. The personal rights and professional guarantees of judges and prosecutors must be improved;
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The absence of objective and concrete criteria in the appointment of judges and prosecutors and the disregard of the principle of “merit” is an important issue that must be corrected immediately.
2- Although their terms of office have not yet expired, it is unclear whether judges and prosecutors who do not apply the Appointment Regulation issued by the HSK itself can be understood as being “needed for service” (actually, it would be more appropriate to use a different expression instead of the concept of “service,” but I did not want to use it here). It is wrong to leave one’s post for an objective reason (whereas, in a geographical division consisting of five regions, a judge or prosecutor should be able to remain in the first region for at least seven years and in the second region for at least five years). Whether it is called natural judicial security or legal judicial security, location, authority, and case security must be provided for judges and prosecutors.
3- The regions are not equal within themselves. For example, Bodrum and Marmaris, as well as Kars and Van, are in the second region; it is wrong to consider Izmir and Ankara, Sivas and Elazig as the first region.
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Your powers should not be affected by constant changes in files, appointments, changes in authority, or laws.
5- Injustice in promotion calculations. In promotion calculations made every two years for the first five promotions and every three years for the sixth and subsequent promotions, at least 80% of the files must be decided upon. The same rate is applied for one year, and the same rate is applied for files lasting more than one year. Furthermore, the decision can be made a performance and promotion criterion by making decisions on merging and separating before starting work.
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Since the salaries of judges and prosecutors are indexed to the highest civil servant salary and the highest civil servant salaries are not increased, the salaries of judges and prosecutors decrease over time. However, the most important guarantee of the independence and impartiality of the judiciary is the financial resources and guarantees provided to judges and prosecutors. In a situation where justice is considered the foundation of property and a necessity like bread, water, and air, the remuneration paid to members of the judiciary acting in the name of justice should be at the highest level. Members of the judiciary should be able to carry out their professional activities without worrying about making ends meet or experiencing financial hardship, that is, without financial concerns. At the same time, this ensures that everyone trusts the judiciary acting on behalf of the nation and believes in the impartiality of the judiciary.
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Geographical security should be provided; judges and prosecutors should not be transferred from one place to another based on subjective or unjustified decisions. In this context, we would like to state that the decisions of the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) regarding geographical security should be subject to judicial review. It is inexplicable that members of the judiciary, who protect the rights of the nation and individuals and resolve disputes, cannot exercise their right to seek justice in matters that concern them.
8- The difficulties accepted in the collection of evidence under Law No. 6526 and the problems arising in courts and judgeships regulated by Law No. 6545 should not be ignored, and further deterioration of the judiciary and justice should be prevented. Instead of systematizing, the fragmented amendments to the law, which have increasingly become a puzzle board and become unsystematic, increasing the professional reluctance and hopelessness of members of the judiciary, should be abandoned. The judiciary should be shaped according to the people, material truth, and justice, not based on political calculations and power. Your court – my court, your judge – my judge, your prosecutor – my prosecutor – is completely contrary to judicial unity, judicial independence, and impartiality in society. It is clear that justice and social order cannot be discussed in a situation dominated by such an unacceptable understanding and fear.
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In HSK member elections, the practice of block voting and paper lists must be immediately replaced with a system where each voter casts a vote for one candidate. Otherwise, the increasing blockage will become dangerous, and politicization, the expectations of those on the winning side, and the professional discomfort of those on the losing side will be inevitable. It does not seem feasible to abolish this method, which serves to create division and resentment, between elections held every four years.
10- HSYK, “If someone has a request, let them come. It is not a board established with the aim of ‘achieving our goal’ and producing services in this direction.” It would be prudent for the HSK to adopt objective criteria that apply equally to every judge and prosecutor, particularly in decisions regarding location, authority, and discipline, and to act in accordance with these criteria in all cases.
11- Professional knowledge and, in particular, experience should be taken into account in the distribution of authority and cases. Requiring a newly appointed young judge to be responsible for approximately 700 cases could lead to serious problems both for the judge and for justice.
12- Consideration should also be given to increasing the number of judges and prosecutors, improving their qualifications, reducing their workload, consolidating the judiciary, and transitioning to a specialized court system where trials are conducted according to the same procedures and principles.