Signatures collected to equalize the CMK Fee Schedule delivered to the Ministry of Justice: 'Equal pay for equal work'

News: Şenol Çarık/ 12punto

Lawyers who are members of the Istanbul Bar Association's Young Lawyers Center have delivered the one thousand signatures they collected to the Ministry of Justice to equalize the CMK Fee Schedule with the Minimum Attorney Fee Schedule.

Making a statement in front of the Ministry, Attorney Doğan Zafer Çıngı stated that the current system makes it difficult for lawyers to make a living and has reached a breaking point.

Young lawyers delivered the one thousand signatures they have been collecting for about a month to the Ministry of Justice today with the demand that 'The CMK Fee Schedule be equalized with the AAÜT'. The lawyers chanted slogans such as; "Equal pay for equal work", "We are defending the defense", "End to forced labor in CMK" and "A lawyer's labor cannot be exploited".

Making a statement there, Attorney Doğan Zafer Çıngı drew attention to the fact that CMK service has been turned into forced labor, saying, "With the uncontrolled rise in the number of lawyers and the country's worsening economy, the appointed defense counsel system, which we call the CMK system, has become a gateway for livelihood for young lawyers. Naturally, this system now carries much greater importance for the livelihood of lawyers than before. However, the compensation for the service we provide in this context is not enough to cover even basic expenses such as travel and food."

Emphasizing the importance of the defense, Çıngı said, "The goal of the defense counsel appointment system, which is determined by international conventions to which our country is a signatory, our constitution, and our laws, is that no one should be forced to be tried without a lawyer. Indeed, where there is no defense, there is torture, there is ill-treatment, there is injustice. But there is no justice," he said.

"THE 2025 CMK FEE SCHEDULE MUST BE EQUALIZED WITH THE MINIMUM ATTORNEY FEE SCHEDULE"

Attorney Doğan Zafer Çıngı continued his statement as follows:

"The base fee that we lawyers can receive for each file is already determined according to our own schedule. According to the current schedule, the fee that must be paid to a lawyer for a case to be heard in a high criminal court is at least 48 thousand TL. Within the scope of appointed defense counsel, the fee to be paid to the lawyer for the same work in a trial that will last for years is only and only 7 thousand 50 TL. If taxes are also deducted, it drops to 5 thousand TL. Even with just court expenses, this fee disappears before it enters our pockets during the long-lasting trial process. Moreover, while the difference between the Minimum Attorney Fee Schedule and the CMK Fee Schedule was 5 times just two years ago, today this difference has increased to 7 times, and the gap between these schedules has deepened day by day. At the stage reached, providing service as an appointed defense counsel, that is, defending our citizens properly, has been made impossible for us. The system, in this state, has reached a point of stagnation."

"EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK"

Stating that they delivered the one thousand signatures they collected with the demand that 'The CMK Fee Schedule be equalized with the AAÜT' to the Ministry of Justice, Çıngı said, "The 2025 CMK Fee Schedule must be equalized with the Minimum Attorney Fee Schedule. We lawyers have delivered the one thousand signatures we collected to the Ministry of Justice for our demand for 'equal pay for equal work' to be accepted. We want these signatures of ours to be taken into account at the Ministry of Justice Plan and Budget Commission, which will meet tomorrow. We demand that the CMK Fee Schedule be equalized with the Minimum Attorney Fee Schedule," he expressed.

News Source: 12punto