Improving the Effectiveness of the Administrative Judiciary and Strengthening the Institutional Capacity of the Council of State

This project is co-funded by the European Union, the Republic of Turkey and the Council of Europe, and implemented by the Council of Europe:

Budget: 3.335.000 EUR

Donor: EU (2.700.000 EUR), Council of Europe (335.000 EUR), Turkey (300.000 EUR)

Ministry of Justice (Main Beneficiary), Council of State, Regional Administrative Courts, first instance administrative and tax courts, Ombudsman Institution

The main beneficiary institution of the project is the Ministry of Justice, along with other final beneficiaries including administrative judiciary representatives at all levels, court users and lawyers involved in the administrative justice system.

• Public distrust in the administrative judicial system manifests itself in the very high number of appeals against decisions of the public administration resulting from the unwillingness of litigants to accept the decisions of first instance courts (the Administrative and Tax Courts). Heavy workload has not only the effect of delaying justice to the citizen, but also diminishes the quality of judicial decisions in the appeals.
• There is a need to improve judicial efficiency and administration by addressing issues of court workload, fair trials and training and awareness raising for members of the administrative judiciary on the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
• The system of the pre-trial resolution of complaints against administrative action is not very developed in Turkey, Although the system of in-house Commissions to resolve citizens’ complaints against public institutions has been strengthened through legislation, the system has not had the desired impact. Improvements to implement the principles of good administration and supporting the institutions like Ombudsman and introducing the alternative dispute resolution methods thereby reducing the number of first instance claims and appeals are needed.
• Administrative justice is more caselaw-based than other parts of the justice system in Turkey and there is need for unification of conflicting judgments; inconsistent decisions are being made by different chambers within the Council of State and by different courts in the same locations. The judicial authorities require assistance to develop mechanisms to ensure consistency among decisions of the courts.

To foster public confidence in the administrative judiciary by further strengthening its independence, impartiality and effectiveness, and increasing public awareness.

1.  Approaches to and policies for improving the effectiveness of the administrative judiciary are agreed, evidence-based and its implementation supported.

Aim of the component is to assist the MoJ, first instance tax and administrative courts, RACs and the CoS through in-depth review of the Turkish administrative justice system and support the significant reforms from a two- to a three-tiered system introduced by the Turkish authorities in the restructuring of administrative appeals, and identify measures to reduce the number of appeals, and implement and assess measures through pilot practices and court user satisfaction surveys.

2. The institutional and professional capacity of the administrative judiciary is strengthened, thereby increasing public confidence in the administrative judiciary.

Aim of the component is to provide technical support and develop the capacity through training in such areas as case-management, appellate decision-making, judgement writing, and procedures for dealing with large numbers of similar or identical cases and raise awareness for all members of the judiciary on the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and promote the quality of decisions..

3. The measures to relieve the administrative justice system and courts of their heavy workload are identified and supported, the existing pre-trial resolution mechanisms are strengthened and appropriate alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms are introduced.

Aim of the component is to support the development or enhancement of the existing mechanisms for resolving disputes, as well as the identification and introduction of any other appropriate ADR mechanisms and supporting Ombudsman institution thereby reducing the number of disputes before the administrative courts.

4. The length of appellate proceedings is reduced by more efficient and effective case management by the RACs and the CoS, and any necessary changes to the systems and processes are introduced.

Aim of the component is support the RACs and the CoS to develop mechanisms to ensure consistency among decisions of the RACs and CoS.

Mariana Chicu (Project Coordinator, based in Strasbourg)

Anja Busch (Project Assistant, based in Strasbourg)

Özlem Demirel Cook (Project Manager, based in Ankara)

Gülsah Dogan (Project Officer, based in Ankara)

Aslıhan Sevimli (Project Linguistic Assistant, based in Ankara)

Ayse Günce Erdal (Project Assistant, based in Ankara)

Defne Acar (Finance Assistant, based in Ankara)