Study visits of the delegations of the Turkish Ministry of Justice to Spain were organised on 3-6 October 2022 and 17-20 October 2022 to Madrid and Barcelona, respectively, within the framework of the European Union-Council of Europe Joint Project on “Promoting Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in Turkey”. During the study visits, various institutions and organisations exchanged on alternative dispute resolution practices.
In the first study visit, which took place between 3-6 October 2022, the delegation was composed of 16 participants including Deputy Minister of Justice, President of the 10th Chamber of the Council of State, Member of the 11th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation, President of the Inspection Board of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors, Director General for Legal Affairs of the Turkish Ministry of Justice, President of the 3rd Civil Chamber of Ankara Regional Court of Appeal, Vice Rector of the National Defence University, Faculty Member of Ibn Haldun University, Head of Mediation Department, Rapporteur Judge of the Turkish Ministry of Justice and a mediator, supported by the Council of Europe project team.
The delegation held meetings at the Spanish Ministry of Justice, Madrid Bar Association, Family Courts/Civil Courts of First Instance in Leganes, Carlos III University, Barcelona Family Court No. 51, Faculty of Psychology of Barcelona University, Courts of Justice in Barcelona, and Catalonia City of Justice.
In Barcelona, the delegate discussed the “express” mediation project with the president and judges of the Courts of Justice in Barcelona, mediators in the court, representatives, and experts from the Catalonian Department of Justice. This project envisages swift mediation practices. In addition, the participants had an opportunity to examine and discuss the mediation and arbitration services developed within the Bar Association, participation of lawyers in mediation, mediators, and specialisation in mediation.
The second study visit, which took place on 17-20 October 2022, consisted of 15 participants including Deputy Minister of Justice, Director General for Criminal Affairs, Deputy Director General for Criminal Affairs, Head of Department, Rapporteur Judge of the Turkish Ministry of Justice, Chief Public Prosecutor, Public Prosecutor, Judge, Member of Law Faculty, a conciliator, and Council of Europe project team.
The delegation paid visits to the Spanish Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Interior-Unit of Restorative Justice Services in the Penitentiary Institutions, the Madrid Bar Association, the courts in Barcelona, the Provincial Administration of Catalonia-Unit of Restorative Justice in Adult and Juvenile Justice and Spanish Group of Magistrates for Mediation from European Group of Magistrates for Mediation. Meetings were held with the judges, prosecutors, lawyers, and conciliators in charge of the files referred to the plea bargain and restorative justice. During the meetings, the participants had the opportunity to compare the practices applied in Spain and Türkiye on ADR and restorative justice practices.
As the Project introduces new mechanisms in Türkiye for strengthening the protection of minors’ rights and determines the types of actions for children in the conciliation process, this visit provided an opportunity to observe comparatively the juvenile specific procedures in conciliation, scope of the crimes for juvenile delinquents, actors involved in juvenile conciliation process, and in-service trainings provided for restorative justice practitioners.
The Joint Project on “Promoting Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in Turkey” is co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe. The Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Türkiye – Directorate General for Criminals Affairs and Directorate General for Legal Affairs are the end beneficiaries of the Project. The Central Finance and Contracts Unit is the contracting authority.
