Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek, in his presentation on the 2027 budget of his Ministry at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Planning and Budget Commission, stated that their goal is to use the allocated resources to strengthen confidence in the judiciary.
Emphasizing that it is their primary duty to present justice with its fundamental values that protect human dignity, secure rights and freedoms and maintain the trust between the state and the nation, Gürlek stated that the power of a state of law, reflected from the national will, will be measured by the capacity of its institutions as well as the trust of its citizens in those institutions.
Stating that they see justice services as a requirement of their common responsibility towards every individual of the nation, regardless of the person's identity, opinion or position, Gürlek said:
"As an indication of our uncompromising commitment to the principles of the rule of law, no one can be granted a position above the law. No citizen can be deprived of the guarantees provided by the law. Judicial independence is our most important value that we protect under all circumstances and conditions. Likewise, it is one of our fundamental duties to protect the indivisible integrity of our state, national unity and national security requirements within the legal framework drawn by the Constitution and the laws, and to ensure the order and continuity of institutional functioning."
Gürlek stated that in the last 24 years, the basic legislation has been renewed, the opportunities for seeking rights, the infrastructure of the judicial organization and the human resources have been improved.
Stating that they are trying to create all the necessary physical and actual infrastructure to ensure that the principles of the rule of law are felt most strongly in the conscience of the citizens, Gürlek said, "We have taken important steps towards liquidating tutelage structures and strengthening the independence and impartiality of the judiciary through constitutional and legal reforms." he said.
Stating that they have eliminated the remnants of all kinds of anti-democratic interventions that hinder Türkiye's level of democratic development, Gürlek said, "We have eliminated the obstacles to the manifestation of the national will by eliminating the damage caused by the spread of FETO, which is an apparatus of international operational intelligence organizations that has been targeting our national security with its activities in our state system for over 40 years, like a cancer cell in our justice system. We have taken precautions against all kinds of non-national infiltration by saving our country's judicial system from junta and coupist pressures." he said.
Stating that they have no other priority than ensuring timely, appropriate and equal provision of justice to everyone, Gürlek said, "We have made important changes towards the rule of law in the structure and functioning of the basic institutions of the state. With this transformation, we have taken as a basis to strengthen democratic legitimacy, the understanding of civil administration and the responsibility of institutions within the law." he said.
"We have completely liquidated the bureaucratic status quo that bears the traces of the old Türkiye." Gürlek stated that they put the democratic state of law and the understanding of a fully independent and free nation at the center.
Gürlek reminded that they systematized the reforms with the Judicial Reform Strategy Documents and that the new road map was determined with the Türkiye Century Judicial Reform Strategy covering the period 2025-2029.
Stating that they are working in line with the targets determined in the document, Gürlek said that they continue to work with all relevant institutions and organizations to reduce delays in cases and investigations, strengthen the technological infrastructure with specialization and complete development in every required field.
"12 MILLION FILES WERE DECISIONED THIS YEAR"
Stating that they have transformed the targets in the Türkiye Century Judicial Reform Strategy into concrete regulations, Gürlek stated that, as the Ministry, they support the operation with administrative regulations.
Gürlek stated that, in this context, Offices for the Efficiency of Judicial Services were established, the "Hello Justice 135 Line" was established, and that they strengthened the Ministry organization in order to fight against new criminal organizations, and said, "With the appreciation of our Veteran Council, we give priority to the acceleration of trials, the effectiveness of criminal justice and the fight against cyber crimes in our work on the 13th Judicial Package. Our aim is to jointly strengthen the conditions that will enable fair decisions to be made in a reasonable time." he said.
Gürlek stated that the number of judges, prosecutors, justice personnel and the number of courts have been increased since 2002 in order to reduce the workload in the judiciary.
Pointing out that the workload in the judiciary is increasing every year, Gürlek said, "As of today, the workload in the judiciary is considerable. Around 12 million files have been decided in our judicial system this year." he said.
Sharing the latest comparative data of the Council of Europe Commission on the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ), Gürlek shared the following information about the trial periods between Türkiye and European countries:
"While the average hearing time of first instance courts in administrative justice is 171 days in our country, it is 314 days in France, 408 days in Germany, and 574 days in Italy. As for appeals, this period is 111 days in our country, 325 days in Spain, 329 days in France, and 460 days in Germany. The average hearing time in contentious civil cases is 243 days in our country, 333 days in France, and 460 days in Spain. 359 days in Italy, 371 days in our country, 343 days in Spain, 391 days in Germany, 753 days in France, 248 days in our country, 203 days in Spain and 355 days in Italy. "It is 366 days in France and 750 days in Italy. These comparisons show that our trial periods are shorter in many areas. However, we do not find this development sufficient and we continue our efforts to complete the trials in a shorter period of time."
"WE ARE DETERMINED TO FOLLOW THE UNKNOWN MURDERS"
In order to strengthen specialization and coordination in the fight against crime, departments of Judicial Security, Natural Disasters and Accidents, Investigation of Unsolved Crimes, Public Order, Digital Media Security and Combating Disinformation, Organized, Narcotic and Economic Crimes, Terrorist Crimes and Financing of Terrorism and Laundering Crimes were established within the Ministry, and they also decided to establish independent Terrorist Crimes Investigation Offices in all provincial chief public prosecutor's offices. Stating that they have achieved specialization in their judgeships, Gürlek noted that they support the re-evaluation of past files in the light of new evidence and criminal opportunities with the Unsolved Crimes Investigation Department.
Emphasizing that the passage of time will not diminish the responsibility towards the justice expectation of the relatives of the victims, Gürlek said, "We are determined to continue our work to resolve the dark assassinations, suspicious deaths and unsolved murders involving social engineering aimed at the national security of our country in the foggy environment created by the status quo power centers over the national will, with today's technological possibilities and the responsibility of respecting the values of our nation." he said.
