Minister of Justice Gürlek: We are working to make judicial services faster and more accessible

Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek attended the 'Judicial Effectiveness Monitoring and Evaluation Meeting' organized by the Council of Judges and Prosecutors in a hotel in Şişli. Minister Akın Gürlek made the opening speech at the program. Gürlek said that they are working to make judicial services faster and more accessible in line with the Fourth Judicial Reform Strategy.

'TODAY 26 THOUSAND 777 JUDGES AND PROSECUTORS ARE ON DUTY'

Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek said, "In line with the Fourth Judicial Reform Strategy announced to the public by our President, we are working with our Ministry of Justice and our Board of Judges and Prosecutors to make judicial services more effective, faster and accessible. Today, we have 26 thousand 777 judges and public prosecutors working in 597 localities. While improving the facilities of this great organization, we see it as our priority for our citizens to reach justice in a reasonable time. When we talk about a speedy judiciary, we do not mean to close the files in a hurry. We pay due attention to each file. "But we will not allow anyone to wait unnecessarily to get their rights," he said.

'THE REASON FOR THE DELAY IN THE LONG INVESTIGATION AND JUDGMENT WILL BE DETERMINED'

Minister Akın Gürlek said, "For this purpose, we have activated the Judicial Services Efficiency Bureaus in 204 units, including the annexed courthouses, within the justice commissions of the first instance courts, regional courts of justice and regional administrative courts. These offices will identify the administrative and technical reasons for the delay, especially in long-lasting investigations and trials, and take the necessary steps for the solution. For example, if a disruption in work distribution, personnel need or a technical obstacle prolongs the trial, this will be detected and resolved by the relevant administrative unit." "We will not just look at the delayed file from afar and settle for a general statement. We will find the source of the problem and remove every obstacle that can be solved. I would like to underline here: No administrative mechanism can replace the conscientious opinion of the judge or the investigative authority of the public prosecutor. The content and outcome of the trial will not be interfered with in any way," he said.

'WE ESTABLISHED THE ALO JUSTICE LINE 135'

Akın Gürlek said, "We also established the Alo Justice 135 Line in order to directly hear the voice of our citizens regarding the delay. We established a system with the software developed by our General Directorate of Information Technology and the call center established in the center, with artificial intelligence support. It started operating as a pilot in Ankara Batı, İzmir and Kayseri courthouses. In the first stage, our citizens will be able to apply to this line for cases exceeding five years and investigations exceeding three years. They can get information about the reason for the delay and take administrative measures that can speed up the process." "In addition, efforts to make more effective use of artificial intelligence technologies from the UYAP infrastructure are continuing in line with the goals of accelerating judicial processes and increasing efficiency in justice services. In this context, we are also accelerating the process of putting the 'UYAP AI' project into operation," he said.

'No matter how bulky or old the file you encounter, go to it'

Minister Gürlek said, "We are also addressing the workload and staff distribution that affects the duration of the trials. In the last 6 months, we have established a total of 196 new courts, put 284 courts into operation and made a decision to establish 180 specialized courts. In addition, we have started to work a total of 1034 assistant judges and prosecutors, including 982 in the judicial judiciary and 52 in the administrative judiciary. Now, we will direct this capacity to the places where it is needed and eliminate the imbalances that cause the accumulation of files. From here, the judges and the Republic "I call out to my prosecutor friends: No matter how voluminous or old the file you come across, pursue it with determination, because behind every file there is a person waiting for justice. Let's put ourselves in their shoes. When you encounter an administrative or technical obstacle that disrupts your work, our Chief Public Prosecutors, Justice Commission Presidents, Judicial Services Efficiency Offices, Judges and Prosecutors Board and our Ministry will be with you. We will not leave any of our colleagues alone with these difficulties."

'Türkiye IS GOING THROUGH AN INTENSIVE AGENDA IN THE FIELD OF JUSTICE'

Minister Gürlek said, "Let's not forget this: Turkey is going through an intense and multifaceted agenda in the field of justice. We have great responsibilities; our citizens' expectations from us are increasing day by day. We have a wide field of struggle before us, from the active structure status of criminal organizations to unsolved or long-standing unresolved files. In addition, as we have witnessed in recent days, we have serious duties such as detecting irregularities revealed by fraudulent methods and quickly enforcing the law, by vested interests that covet the economic rights of our nation." "It is essential that our Council of Judges and Prosecutors follows the functioning of the judicial system carefully throughout this process, detects any problems in a timely manner and takes appropriate and effective action when necessary. Our concern is to maintain a strong and solid justice system where our citizens can safely apply to the judiciary. Turkey will be strong and peaceful as long as justice is fast and reliable."

A gift was presented to Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek in memory of the day.