Judicial reform postponed until October

Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç made statements during a television program he attended.

Minister Tunç stated that the deliberations regarding the Draft Law on Amendments to Certain Laws, known in the public as the 9th Judicial Package, have been postponed until October, adding that they will take steps to accelerate judicial processes once the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) reconvenes.

Here are the highlights of Minister Tunç's statements:

9TH JUDICIAL PACKAGE

"The 9th Judicial Package has been postponed until October. We could not catch up with the Parliament's work schedule. We contributed to the draft work at our ministry. The deliberations in the Justice Commission were completed, and it received a sequence number at the General Assembly stage. The Parliament's recess period has begun; it will be one of the first items on the agenda in October.

There are important regulations in the 9th Judicial Package. There were regulations aimed at making the mediation system more effective and allowing experienced legal professionals to become mediators. We attach importance to alternative dispute resolution methods."

We have ongoing efforts to reduce the workload in appellate courts. We have a clause regarding preliminary examination in appeals. When a file arrives at the department in appellate courts, it must complete the preliminary examination within 1 month and decide whether it has jurisdiction. Within 1 month, the appellate civil chamber will conduct the preliminary examination and send it to the competent court, and the competent court will then make a decision. Thus, the file being left in limbo for months will be prevented."

SOCIAL MEDIA REGULATION

Insults via social media have increased. We have efforts to prevent this. We want to subject insult crimes committed via social media to a preliminary screening. There are also regulations there aimed at reducing those crimes.

SURNAME REGULATION FOR WOMEN

Especially after the Constitutional Court's (AYM) cancellation decision regarding a woman's surname, a regulation was necessary. In the original version of our Civil Code, the regulation stating that a woman takes her husband's surname upon marriage was later changed in subsequent years to allow her to use her maiden name alongside her husband's surname. The Constitutional Court reached a decision stating, 'She can use her own surname.' The decision here is for the TBMM... Since that article of our Civil Code was cancelled, a regulation is required.

FAMILY LAW REGULATION

I had said, 'We will review family law.' This immediately drew criticism in the public, with people saying, 'The Minister of Justice says we will rewrite the civil code from scratch.' There are still those who repeat this. Our Civil Code was changed from top to bottom in 2001. Therefore, our Civil Code is an important fundamental law for us, especially in terms of both personal and family law. Of course, if there are issues that need to be changed within the scope of society's needs over the years, it is a matter at the discretion of the TBMM. What I said here was that we are holding a symposium to address family law issues. I said we would make recommendations in line with the outputs of the symposium.

Such a debate is also being raised regarding a woman's surname. The reasoning of the Constitutional Court is clear. In line with this reasoning, our deputies in the TBMM will make the most accurate decision.

JUDICIAL REFORM

The reform process never ends. Law is constantly evolving. If you are sensitive to the demands of the nation, you feel those needs. We have carried out significant reforms over the last 22 years. We have implemented important reforms that ensure judicial unity. We had started a planned reform process in the field of justice, especially regarding implementation, since 2009. While preparing the upcoming judicial reform strategy document, we are making preparations by also taking into account the goals that could not be achieved in previous documents."