Duration of the Project

24 months (December 2015 – December 2017)

Total Budget

€ 3,700,000

Project Beneficiary and other stakeholders

The High Council of Judges and Prosecutors is the main beneficiary of the Project. The other stakeholders are Turkish Justice Academy, The High Courts, the Union of Turkish Bars Associations and relevant NGOs.

Target Groups

Judges, prosecutors and auxiliary judicial staff, including members and staff of the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors, lawyers, representatives from civil society organisations, academics.

The expected results under the Project can be summarised under four main headings:

• A detailed analysis of the situation in the field of judicial ethics is made and a Code is developed.
• Awareness of the Turkish judges and prosecutors on judicial ethics is increased.
• Capacity of the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors to implement the Code is enhanced.
• Public awareness on judicial ethics and the availability of complaint mechanisms is increased.

The results will be achieved through the following activities:

To make a detailed analysis of the situation in the field of judicial ethics and to develop a code:

• Regional meetings with judges and prosecutors to discuss and analyse frequent cases of ethical misconduct
• Meeting with lawyers about challenges related to judicial ethics, as seen from their perspective
• Organisation of international study visits to observe best practices and compare different approaches to judicial ethics
• Organisation of roundtable meetings with the participation of NGO representatives, academia and media in order to get their input and viewpoints as regards judicial ethics and the guidelines to be drafted
• Organisation of working group meetings to process the results of previous activities
• Organisation of an international conference to announce and present the Code of Ethics

To increase the awareness of the Turkish judges and prosecutors on judicial ethics:

• Design of training curricula and development of training materials
• Publication and dissemination of a guidebook on judicial ethics and other training materials
• Training Sessions for trainers of judges and prosecutors
• Cascade training

To enhance the capacity of the high council of judges and prosecutors to implement the code:

• Baseline study about complaints related to ethics, submitted by members of the general public to the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors.
• International study visits for the members, staff and Inspection Board of the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors to observe practices in EU member states as regards judicial ethics complaints and related sanctions.
• International placements of secretariat members of the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors and its Inspection Board into EU and/or other European or national structures supervising the respect of judicial ethics, or in anti-corruption or similar agencies.
• Internal seminars of the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors to develop practices and policies regarding the link between judges’ and prosecutors’ respect of the Judicial Guidelines and their career advancement.

To increase public awareness on judicial ethics and the availability of complaint mechanisms:

• Media event to present the content of the new ethics guidelines.
• Information campaign for the general public about the new ethics guidelines and avenues for submitting complaints.