Project on Judicial Ethics was launched in Turkey
Council of Europe held a launching ceremony for the Project on “Strengthening the Judicial Ethics in Turkey” on 4 May 2016 in Ankara, Turkey. The representatives of the judicial and executive authorities, judges, prosecutors, lawyers and civil society attended the event. The speakers included the Secretary General of the Turkish High Council of Judges and Prosecutors Mr Bilgin Basaran, Ms Emine Döger Acting Deputy Head of the Contracting and Finance Unit of Turkey, the Head of the EU Delegation to Turkey Ambassador Mr Hansjörg Haber, the Director for Programmes of the Council of Europe Ms Verena Taylor and Minister of Justice of Turkey M. Bekir Bozdag.
In her opening remarks Ms Verena Taylor thanked for the fruitful co-operation between the European Union and Turkey and the Council of Europe. She stressed on the importance of strengthening public trust in the fairness and quality of justice delivered. For the project to achieve its objectives “the full and sustained commitment of all the parties’ involved, strong ownership by the entire Turkish judiciary, together with resolute political will to support the strengthening of judicial independence, will be essential ingredients for its success. The impressive participation in today’s event testifies to the degree of awareness of the urgency of the challenges faced by the judiciary, as well as the high interest of the legal professions and society at large in benefiting from the results that this project should bring about” – said Ms Taylor.
The “Strengthening the Judicial Ethics in Turkey“ project is funded by the European Union, Council of Europe and Turkey and implemented by the Council of Europe. Total value of the project is 3,340,000 EUR, EU contribution being € 3 million. The 24 month-project aims to support the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors of Turkey, who are the main beneficiary of this project, in order to introduce and implement a code of ethics in accordance with international and European Standards. The drafting of the code of ethics will involve consultations with public institutions, associations, NGOs and academics. It is the objective of the project that the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors of Turkey increase its current capacity to ensure the independence and impartiality of the Turkish judiciary.
