Justice Minister Tunç's statement regarding DEM Party's petition: 'It was delivered on November 26'

Minister Tunç answered questions from members of parliament at the Parliamentary Research Commission on the Prevention of Violence and Discrimination Against Women.

Explaining that the Family Law Evaluation Board was established to take guiding and advisory decisions on programs to be carried out by the Justice Academy of Turkey, especially in studies related to family law, Tunç said, "There is no other intention. It should not be interpreted as a parallel structure within the judiciary."

Recalling that comments such as "The Civil Code will be changed from scratch" were made due to his statement, "We will review the family law section of our Civil Code from scratch," when he was appointed, Tunç used the expression, "We have no such statement. The Civil Code had already been changed from scratch in 2001, before the AK Party came to power."

Pointing out that cases related to family law take a long time, Tunç provided the following information: "We need to make this faster. We have some studies regarding the acceleration of the appellate process and the conclusion of long-running cases. We have studies on the re-evaluation of the periods in target duration practices; and on making the inspection mechanism and disciplinary processes more effective regarding judges and prosecutors who do not comply with the target duration. We say, 'Let it not take more than 6 months in the Courts of Appeal.' In our Judicial Reform Document, we will propose that hearings not be postponed for more than 2 months."

Stating that "justice delayed is justice denied," especially regarding cases arising from family law, Tunç said that they are taking the necessary measures to ensure that women are not victimized.

ELECTRONIC ANKLET APPLICATION

In his response to questions regarding the electronic anklet application, Minister Tunç said that the application was expanded to all provinces and districts as of February 2021.

Sharing data on the electronic anklet, Tunç said, "There are currently 927 people under probation. There is a capacity of 1500 for electronic monitoring. Within the scope of the project we call 'BİOSİS', we have a study to provide an infrastructure that can monitor all probationers through electronic monitoring methods. We had prepared the legislative infrastructure for this. We will implement this study in our Ministry next year in cooperation with TÜRKSAT. A more effective application will have begun in this regard."

Regarding the question of whether there could be a telephone line within the Ministry of Justice to inform the public about protective and preventive measures taken, as well as decisions and practices, Tunç replied, "We have noted the study regarding the telephone line; it is worth considering. Our Department of Judicial Support and Victim Services is already working on this. A telephone line that allows our citizens to apply directly there could be positive."

Minister Tunç also stated that they are trying to take into account comparative law and what kind of practices exist in which countries.

"NECESSARY MEASURES MUST BE TAKEN"

Regarding the way news is covered in the press, Justice Minister Tunç assessed, "Just as it increases the visibility of violence, there is an advertisement and snowballing effect of evils. We respect the right to receive information. We see that comments are made without knowing the content of the file regarding many events that exceed the limits of the right to receive information, especially during the trial process and while still in the investigation stage. These comments can also be of a nature that violates the presumption of innocence."

Pointing out that these comments could negatively affect the trial process, Tunç emphasized that necessary measures should be taken regarding the way news is covered.

Justice Minister Tunç said that there are decisions taken by RTÜK on this matter, and that it would be beneficial to conduct a study on what can be done to make them more effective.

"IT HAS APPROACHED 40 PERCENT"

Regarding a question about women's representation, Tunç provided the information, "The ratio of female judges and prosecutors has approached 40 percent. Our staff number is also 50 percent. Therefore, our Ministry of Justice is in a positive picture in terms of equal opportunity for men and women. We also need to increase the number of female chief public prosecutors and commission presidents. Across Turkey, our number of female Chief Public Prosecutors is 8, and our number of female commission presidents is 10. There are 4 female Chief Public Prosecutors in Heavy Penal centers, and 4 female Chief Public Prosecutors are serving in other places."

Providing information on the work carried out by the Parliamentary Research Commission, which was established to prevent all kinds of abuse against children and to determine the measures to be taken, during his tenure as its chairman, Tunç stated that they included 83 vital recommendations in the conclusion part of the 500-page report they prepared in this context.

"We should not just put these reports on the shelf of the Parliament and leave them there," said Tunç, adding that a regulation is needed to follow up on its implementation.

WOMEN KILLED DESPITE PROTECTION ORDERS

Stating that withdrawing from the Istanbul Convention does not prevent the implementation of Law No. 6284, Justice Minister Tunç said, "We are carrying out a more advanced regulation. Many European countries did not put the Istanbul Convention into effect even though they signed it."

Pointing out that Law No. 6284 offers a much broader framework than the Istanbul Convention in the fight against violence against women, Tunç expressed, "The important thing is its implementation."

Referring to a study that the Ministry of Justice is conducting with Ankara University regarding the "Investigation of Violence Against Women Through the Profile of Crime Perpetrators," Tunç pointed to the findings in the final report of this research.

In response to a question about the number of women killed despite a protection order, Tunç replied, "Unfortunately, 131 of our women have been killed, with 38 in 2021, 41 in 2022, 24 in 2023, and 28 in 2024, after protection orders were issued. When we look at femicides, it was 302 in 2021, 365 in 2022. It fell to 338 in 2023, a 7.3 percent decrease. In 2024, it is 309, an 8.5 percent decrease."

Upon a deputy raising the issue of the possibility of staying in women's shelters for mothers with children over the age of 12, Minister Tunç said that they would convey this issue to the Ministry of Family and Social Services.

Stating that they are considering making a regulation in Article 29 of the Turkish Penal Code regarding the unjust provocation reduction, Tunç noted that they would present a draft proposal and that there is a need for a re-evaluation regarding the rates of unjust provocation reduction.

Minister Tunç also touched upon the issue of sanctions for practitioners in the fight against violence against women between 2020-2024, stating that the Council of Judges and Prosecutors has opened disciplinary investigations against 13 judges and public prosecutors.

Pointing out that the penalty for stalking is higher if it is directed at a spouse or ex-spouse, Tunç said that the proposal of AK Party Ankara Deputy Asuman Erdoğan regarding "increasing penalties for stalking based on the victim being a woman" could be evaluated.

Stating that there are things that need to be done regarding series, films, and television programs within the scope of the fight against violence against women, Tunç suggested that screenwriters be invited to the Commission.

DEM PARTY'S VISIT PETITION

Regarding sign language interpretation, Tunç stated that 30 sign language interpreters are working in courthouses as commission appointees, and that registered sign language experts also provide services in expert witness lists.

Regarding the "DEM Party's request to visit İmralı," Tunç said, "The DEM Party's meeting petition was delivered to our Ministry of Justice on November 26, that is, last week. Our evaluation on this matter continues. It will be answered within a reasonable process."

"THE CHILD IS NOT EVEN AWARE THAT THEY ARE GIVING A STATEMENT"

Pointing out the importance of the statements of child victims of crime in terms of revealing the material truth, Minister Tunç provided information about the work of Child Monitoring Centers (ÇİM).

Pointing out that children are not even aware that they are actually giving a statement while their statements are being taken at Child Monitoring Centers, Tunç spoke as follows:

"The child is not there, in front of the public prosecutor or the judge. The public prosecutor and the judge take the statement by talking to the social worker through headphones in the back room. Whoever the psychologist or pedagogue is, the sociologist or social worker there conveys the questions asked by the prosecutor to the child in a way they can understand. While chatting with the child, maybe there are toys. The child's statement is actually taken while they are making some drawings. Is the statement a taught statement or a real statement? Statements taken at Child Monitoring Centers are very important in terms of whether it is a statement consistent with a material truth. Collecting evidence here is important. Our judges who will decide on the file will decide according to the evidence. There must be evidence in the file to accuse a person. The result is this, the discretion is again with the courts, the judiciary. If there is an erroneous decision, there are already possibilities for correction in the appeal and supreme court process. The children's examinations are also done here."

Pointing out that the reason for establishing Child Monitoring Centers is for children to be able to give their statements in the most accurate way without being under any influence, Tunç said, "They can do this without going to environments where adults are present. Also, their examinations are done in the same place, and within the structure of our state hospitals, a regulation was made in the judicial package in Parliament 2 weeks ago so that state universities can also provide this opportunity."

"OUR NEW PRACTICE IS CHILD JUSTICE CENTERS"

Justice Minister Tunç stated that he also visited judicial interview rooms during his courthouse visits and said, "Our new practice is child justice centers. We started in Erzurum, we opened it in Bursa. We opened it in Eskişehir last month. We are looking for children's courthouses. Children, whether they are child victims of crime or children dragged into crime—actually, one shouldn't even say 'child dragged into crime'. It is not clear whether they were dragged or not. Children alleged to have been dragged into crime. Their presence in the same courthouse as adults is detrimental to their future. They need to benefit from judicial processes without being traumatized and by observing their best interests. We currently have them in 3 provinces. We have had recommendations to all our Chief Public Prosecutors in all our large provinces, saying 'find suitable places' and let's open them immediately. Hopefully, we will implement them quickly as well."

News Source: AA