Istanbul Bar Association President İbrahim Kaboğlu became a candidate again on behalf of Lawyers for Change at the general assembly to be held on October 10.
Announcing his candidacy at the meeting held at the bar association in the evening, Kaboğlu touched upon the 2-year process and the practices implemented since 2024, when he took office as president, and said, "We will advance our bar association; we will further its character as a legal and judicial institution. But we will constantly voice that the constitutional weaknesses must be eliminated, being aware of the knowledge we have from 1876 to 2017."
"I WAS NEVER ALONE IN THIS DIFFICULT DUTY"
Kaboğlu said:
"In 2014, a delegation came to me; just like every other year, to Marmara University for the presidency of the bar association. And I said 'No', 'Being a university faculty member is a heavy duty, being the president of the bar association is a task that brings much more responsibility and I cannot carry out these two duties together.'
At that time, pay attention; The Istanbul Bar Association had perhaps half the number of members it has today, and Türkiye was governed by a parliamentary regime. But I said this not as a criticism, but to express that the presidency of the bar association, which is carried out in order to make the law effective in a bar association like the Istanbul Bar Association, requires very heavy duties and responsibilities.
Of course, I was never alone in this heavy duty. The Board of Directors diligently formed the inner core; Supervisory Board, Disciplinary Board and Board of Delegates, working committee, Lawyers for Change... But not only them, of course; 40 centers and commission members, representatives, managers whom we have never met, seen for the first time, met... Most of the time, when I leave the bar association at 23.00 or 24.00 at night, there is always a group of people clustered downstairs, talking and greeting each other. I feel the need to ask; 'Which commission did you come from, which center had a meeting?' saying. So, the work done until 24.00 hours, if we have done it in 2 years, the 6-page service chart at the beginning, the work in the text that I cannot read so as not to waste your time; This means that it belongs not only to the Board of Directors, the other 3 boards, but also to the centers, commissions and thousands, tens of thousands of lawyers who are members of the Istanbul Bar Association.
"I CONTINUE TO MAKE THE LAW EFFECTIVE IN Türkiye"
In this respect, we celebrated the 148th anniversary of the Istanbul Bar Association this year. Of course, all these experiences we have had will in no way apply to the 150th anniversary of the Istanbul Bar Association, just as I expressed at the General Assembly on February 23, 2025; Not 'we', but 'all of us', all together... Because I have never neglected to invite two categories of colleagues to all important events of the Istanbul Bar Association, colleagues who have contributed to the institutionalization of the Istanbul Bar Association: First, the previous presidents; Two, the group representatives competing with us in October 2024. Therefore, with our participatory, inclusive and institutional development approach, I invite all components to walk towards the common denominator of the law and make the law effective in Türkiye.”
At the beginning of the meeting, lawyer Büşra Çakır read the statement prepared on behalf of Lawyers for Change. "Today, we are together here to once again express our will for the future of the Istanbul Bar Association," said Çakır and added:
"Two years ago, here again, we said that not only the management of the Istanbul Bar Association, but also its understanding of management should change. On this path we set out with the slogan 'Idea, Solidarity, Action', we dreamed of an Istanbul Bar Association where the lawyer is not left alone, where the defense is not allowed to be silenced, where the lawyer stands by his colleague in every intervention against his rights and does not remain silent in the face of lawlessness. After two years, we are here again today. However, we are no longer just talking about what kind of Istanbul Bar Association we want. Today, we started to change the Istanbul Bar Association together. We demonstrate our will to continue the struggle.
"WE TRIED TO MAKE OUR BAR A PART OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY STRUGGLE"
The past two years; It was a period in which the judiciary would continue to be used as an instrument of political interventions, the right to vote and be elected was interfered with, and fundamental rights and freedoms were increasingly limited. Despite all the pressures, we supported social peace and tried to make our bar association a part of the struggle for a democratic society. And while all this was happening, the defense was on target again. In a system where lawyers cannot access their files, are prevented from meeting their clients, are detained while performing their duties, and are arrested for their professional activities, it is not just the lawyer who is targeted. Because where the defense is silenced, the citizen's freedom to seek rights is also silenced. For this reason, we have never seen the Istanbul Bar Association as a professional organization where only administrative work is carried out. Istanbul Bar Association is also a struggle organization. With this understanding, we evicted the Bar Association from its building. We were at the courthouse when our colleague's rights were violated, in front of the lockup when he was detained, and at the prison gate when he was arrested.
While young people, students and citizens were detained at Vatan Police; We were in Silivri, Çorlu and Edirne when elected officials, journalists, colleagues and citizens were arrested. We stood tall in Çağlayan and Silivri during the days when the Istanbul Bar Association and its executives were wanted to be tried. We defended the right to democratic politics in lawsuits filed against interventions against the right to vote and be elected. We stood by the workers and their families who lost their lives in workplace murders in İliç, Hendek and Dilovası. We did not leave workers alone and without a lawyer on May 1 and other social events. We have been legal followers of the ecological struggles carried out to protect nature and living spaces in Akbelen, Ceratepe, Canal Istanbul and Sazlıdere. We monitored and reported rights violations in prisons and followed the legal processes. We stood against every attack on women's rights and freedoms. We stood by the women's struggle with our crisis desks, detention monitoring and legal support on March 8, November 25 and wherever women took to the streets for their rights.
"LEGAL STRUGGLE CANNOT BE CONDUCTED ONLY IN COURTHOUSE CORRIDORS"
We said that LGBTI+ rights are human rights, we continued our rights advocacy against the recent detentions and social media smears, and today we are following the processes of 5 of our colleagues and dozens of activists detained in Çağlayan Courthouse at the Istanbul Police Department. Because for us, the legal struggle is not carried out only in the corridors of the courthouse. Istanbul Bar Association must be present wherever rights are violated and law is needed. We knew that defending the rule of law had a price, and we did not hesitate to pay it. However, we did not limit our struggle to this. We saw the economic problems of young lawyers, the precarious working conditions of worker lawyers, the increasing expenses of our freelance colleagues, and the inadequacy of CMK and legal aid fees as parts of the same struggle.
By expanding bar associations and work areas and creating new service areas; We organized scientific meetings, professional trainings and solidarity meetings. But we do not find any of these sufficient. Because for us, change is not about winning an election. Change is not the replacement of one administration with another. Change is a management culture. Now we have the responsibility to permanently embed the change we started two years ago into the institutional structure and working culture of the Istanbul Bar Association. For this reason, the new era is not a repetition of the era we left behind; It will be a new phase in which the transformation we have started will be institutionalized. For a more democratic, participatory and transparent Istanbul Bar Association; To find solutions to the economic and professional problems of our colleagues; We still have a lot to do for the independence of defence, the rule of law and fundamental rights and freedoms. That's why we're here again today.
"THIS CANDIDACY IS NOT JUST A PRESIDENT'S SECOND TERM CANDIDACY"
Change; It is the organized force of defense. Change; It means not remaining silent in the face of lawlessness. Change; It overflows from the baron's building. And change must continue in the Istanbul Bar Association. For this reason, as Lawyers for Change, at the 2026 Istanbul Bar Association General Assembly, our Istanbul Bar Association President, Lawyer Prof. Dr. We declare to our colleagues and the public that we will continue our path under the chairmanship of İbrahim Özden Kaboğlu. This candidacy is not just a second-term candidacy of a president. This nomination; It is the will to continue the change that started two years ago, to institutionalize it and to transform the Istanbul Bar Association into a permanent management culture. Without leaving any of our colleagues out; We continue our way with common sense, solidarity, democracy and the understanding of Idea, Solidarity and Action. And we say the same thing today as yesterday: Law for everyone, always, everywhere! We invite all our colleagues who want to continue the change in the Istanbul Bar Association to grow this struggle together.
