Minister Tunç: Our lawyers are one of the three pillars of the judiciary

Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç attended the signing ceremony of the 'Cooperation Protocol on Providing Financial Support to Cover the Office Establishment Expenses of Lawyers.' The program, held at the Dikmen Judges' House, was also attended by the President of the Union of Turkish Bar Associations, Erinç Sağkan, and several bar association presidents. Delivering the opening speech at the program, Union of Turkish Bar Associations President Sağkan stated the following:

"Being part of a project implemented to ensure that tens of thousands of our young colleagues do not partially experience the problems we have faced is of great, great value to us. In fact, today's project does not only mean offering financial support to our young colleagues as they enter the profession. Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, we are at the signing ceremony of a cooperation protocol that provides an equal measure of advantage in citizens' access to justice."

Speaking at the program, Minister of Justice Tunç pointed out that the realization of justice is very important for social peace, for the country's tranquility, and for the nation's peace.

"OUR LAWYERS ARE ONE OF THE THREE PILLARS OF THE JUDICIARY"

Emphasizing that there must first be an impartial and independent judiciary for justice to be realized, Minister Tunç said, "The Rule of Law has three pillars: the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. One of these three pillars that constitute the Rule of Law is the judiciary. The judiciary also has three pillars: prosecution, defense, and judgment. Therefore, our lawyers are one of the three pillars of the judiciary. The judiciary is one of the three pillars of the state. And our lawyers are one of the three pillars of the judiciary. Therefore, when lawyers are not one of those three pillars, the right to defense cannot be mentioned. An independent and impartial judiciary cannot be mentioned. And when there is no judiciary, the rule of law cannot be mentioned. For this reason, our lawyers are the constituent elements of the judiciary. According to the first article of the Attorneyship Law, lawyers are the constituent elements of the judiciary. It is a public service. At the same time, it is a freelance profession," he said.

"OUR LAWYERS ARE THE VOICE OF THE DEFENSE"

Recalling the sixth article of the Turkish Penal Code, Minister Tunç said, "Just as our judges and prosecutors are, our lawyers have equal value as one of the three pillars of the judiciary. Therefore, the quality of our lawyers' legal education, pre-professional training, and the training activities carried out by our bar associations during their careers means that increasing professional quality and the quality of the defense means increasing the quality of the trial. For this reason, it is very important for our young colleagues to be able to continue their path without financial difficulties at the beginning of their profession, especially in terms of strengthening judicial independence, the right to defense, and the principle of the rule of law. Because our lawyers are the voice of the defense, the guarantee of the search for rights, and the representatives at the point where justice meets society," he stated.

Tunç mentioned that lawyers are also guides and that they perform a very important duty to facilitate access to justice.

Speaking about the signing protocol, Minister Tunç said, "The matter for which we have carried out the protocol was the provision in the 7th judicial package, Law No. 7445, that financial support would be provided under favorable conditions by credit and financial institutions and public institutions and organizations that provide loans to cover the office establishment expenses of lawyers. Of course, a regulation was needed regarding the applicability of this provision. The parts related to this legislation have been overcome, and we have brought it to today's stage. With the protocol to be signed today, our young colleagues will have the opportunity to benefit from loan options with a six-month grace period, alternatives with fixed and variable interest rates, and unsecured loan conditions below market interest rates. These have been determined for the first five years. Our lawyers with five years of seniority will be able to benefit. However, there is no such age limit in the earthquake zone.

All our colleagues applying from the earthquake zone will be able to benefit from this. Therefore, there is no limitation there. We have to apply positive discrimination to them," he stated.