What is the 8th Judicial Package? What is it not?

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Carl Gustav Jung once said, “You are what you do, not what you say you'll do.” Every time the government introduces a new judicial reform package, this quote by Jung comes to mind. This is because seven judicial reform packages have been prepared before, promising hopes for a better functioning justice system, yet despite these reforms, no improvement has been achieved in access to judicial services. To give a few examples;

Have femicides in Turkey decreased? No.

Have unlawful detentions and arrests been eliminated? No.

Are disputes between tenants and landlords being resolved? No.

Are cases being concluded within a reasonable time? No.

Therefore, we must accept that none of the judicial reforms implemented have provided a solution for access to justice. The 8th judicial package will not bring a solution either. In other words, we are a country that manages to make justice worse after every reform.

So why?

As I have been saying for years after every claim of reform, AS LONG AS JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE IS NOT ENSURED, ALL REGULATIONS TO BE MADE ARE DOOMED TO REMAIN ON PAPER, AND NO REFORM CAN EMERGE FROM ANY REGULATION WITHIN THIS FRAMEWORK. In other words, the real problem in the judiciary is not the legislation, but the implementation and the practitioners. However, the urgent step to be taken for all of this is to change the structure of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK). Currently, the HSK is in a structure where its members are entirely determined by the political power. It has become politicized. This causes judges who issue decisions that are not liked by the political power to be exiled. Judges and prosecutors who lack geographical tenure make decisions under the threat of exile. Despite all the reforms, since these judges and prosecutors under threat are not independent even in appearance, they are open to the pressure of the political power. In summary, the main problem is not the legislation, but the mentality. As long as the mentality of “let the judiciary be mine, let the decisions I like be issued” prevails, reform in the judiciary cannot be experienced. Regulations made in this manner are merely a bandage.

For this reason, I write with regret that none of these judicial reform packages will bring justice to our country.

I repeat Jung’s words.

“You are what you do, not what you say you'll do.”