'Master-apprentice' era in judgeship and prosecution

Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç attended the 2023-2024 Academic Year Graduation Ceremony of Hacettepe University Faculty of Law in Ankara.

Delivering a speech there, Tunç argued that they have strengthened the rule of law with the actions taken in the judiciary and law over the last 22 years.

Stating that “We have expanded the freedom to seek justice with the reforms implemented,” Tunç continued as follows:

“We have largely brought the legislation into line with the needs of the era. We have increased the physical facilities and technological capabilities of our judicial organization. When I graduated from law school 29 years ago, just like you, there was a much more pessimistic picture. Courthouses were in rented apartments, in dilapidated buildings; hearings were held under staircases, and lawyers were in a miserable state. We have come from those difficult days to where we are today.”

'MASTER-APPRENTICE' ERA BEGINS IN THE JUDICIARY

Expressing that prosecutor, judge, and lawyer candidates graduating from law schools will now face an entrance exam for legal professions, Tunç said, "We are striving for the training of more qualified legal professionals. As our law school dean also stated, the number of our law schools is quite high. Our quotas are a bit high; we have raised the success threshold from 190 thousand to 120 thousand. We are striving to raise this even further. We want our successful young people to get into law school. We want them to receive a good education after that challenging struggle and then step into legal professions by passing through a filter. And starting from this year, we will hold the entrance exam for legal professions for the first time at the end of September. We have transitioned to the judge and prosecutor assistant system. We have also conducted its exam. 1,000 of our judge and prosecutor assistants will begin their duties as of this year. Instead of the 2-year judge-prosecutor candidacy, there will now be a 3-year judge and prosecutor assistantship. Our young legal professionals, who will be trained alongside experienced judges and prosecutors within a master-apprentice relationship, will be more successful on the bench."

News Source: 12punto