New regulation for the legal profession: 'Candidates will first need to pass the Entrance Exam for Legal Professions'

Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç, AKP Secretary General Fatih Şahin, and MHP Deputy Chairman Feti Yıldız attended an iftar program organized by the Ankara No. 2 Bar Association for the April 5 Lawyers' Day.

In his speech, Tunç emphasized that there can be no democratic state of law without a judiciary, and that it is lawyers who represent the defense.

Reminding that they are working to improve the professional lives of lawyers and eliminate the difficulties they face in their careers, Tunç also explained that there are further projects in the pipeline.

Pointing to the importance of justice, Tunç stated that the realization of justice is not possible without defense, and that they will continue to stand by lawyers, who make a very important contribution to the administration of justice.

Stating that they have carried out significant work over the past 22 years to improve the legislation governing lawyers and to increase the physical capacity of their workplaces, Tunç noted that Turkey now possesses some of the most modern new laws in the world.

Tunç stated that they are working on the Attorneyship Law and that they have a draft in progress.

Tunç said, "Hopefully, with the new Attorneyship Law, we are continuing our efforts to present our draft—first to our board presidency, then to our Parliamentary Group and our deputies—to address the fundamental issues of our lawyers and to submit it to the appreciation of the 28th Term Parliament."

NEW REGULATIONS TO COME INTO EFFECT

Stating that significant regulations have been implemented within the scope of the Judicial Reform Strategy Document, particularly regarding the improvement of the quality of the legal profession, Tunç noted that there are important regulations that will come into effect starting in 2024, and made the following remarks:

"The most important of these is the proposal that has been discussed for years: 'let there be an exam for the legal profession, and let there be a preliminary screening after finishing law school.' This was enacted in the First Judicial Package. The effective date was 2024. We will hold the Entrance Exam for Legal Professions around October or November 2024. From now on, our young brothers and sisters who will begin their legal internship will first need to pass the Entrance Exam for Legal Professions. Those who will take the judge and prosecutor exams will also need to pass the Entrance Exam for Legal Professions."

Noting that they have seen the quotas in law schools drop from 190 thousand to 125 thousand, Tunç stated that if the academic staff in law schools is strengthened, it will be seen that the quality of education there will also increase within the next few years.

Explaining that lawyers perform very important duties in terms of citizens' access to legal services, Tunç stated that since 2013, 65 percent of the 6 million files in the mediation system have resulted in an agreement, and that lawyers have made a great contribution to this success.

NEW ATTORNEYSHIP LAW

Ankara No. 2 Bar Association President Sabri Hafif also touched upon what needs to be done to improve the conditions of lawyers.

Emphasizing that their problems will be definitively solved with the Attorneyship Law, Hafif said that they have provided and are ready to provide all kinds of support for the work related to the Attorneyship Law. Hafif expressed that they want the new Attorneyship Law to be enacted as soon as possible.