“The right to a fair trial does not require that the outcome of the trial, that is, the decision, be fair, but that the trial process be fair.”
The pilot training on the “right to a fair trial – reasonable time” was delivered in face-to-face format on 24-25 November 2021 in Istanbul.
25 judges from the Istanbul Regional Administrative Court and first instance administrative and tax courts participated in the pilot training.
Through this training, it is aimed to develop the knowledge and skills of the participants on integrating the elements of fair trial into the trial process, complying with the standards determined by the case law of the Turkish Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights, thus preventing violations of the right to a fair trial.
During the pilot training, issues such as the relationship between the European Convention on Human Rights and domestic law, introduction to the right to a fair trial, independent and impartial court, the right to a reasoned decision, the presumption of innocence, legal certainty, obvious discretionary error, the right to court, the principle of publicity, equality of arms, adversarial trial and reasonable time were addressed comprehensively. Existing theoretical approaches were applied in an interactive way, supported by practical exercises in the training sessions.
The 2-day training comprising of eight sessions were delivered by the module authors, Prof. Dr. Sibel İnceoglu, Dr. Erkan Duymaz and Dr. Yusuf Sertaç Serter. Adult Education Expert, Prof. Dr. Cennet Engin Demir, and Measurement and Evaluation Expert Prof. Hasan Atak, who contributed to the development of the training modules have also actively participated in the training and made evaluations.
Following the pilot training, training curricula and materials prepared for each module will be revised, training of trainers will be organised, and a pool of trainers will be created. Cascade trainings will start following the training of trainers.
“The Joint Project on Improving the Effectiveness of the Administrative Judiciary and Strengthening the Institutional Capacity of the Council of State is co-funded by the European Union, the Council of Europe and the Republic of Turkey, and implemented by the Council of Europe. The Turkish Ministry of Justice - Directorate General for Legal Affairs is the end beneficiary of the Project. The Central Finance and Contracts Unit is the contracting authority of this Project.”
