The Memorandum of Understanding on the Founding of the Turkic Judicial Training Network was signed at a ceremony attended by the members of judiciary from Türkiye, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Hungary, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.

“Today, we have achieved our goal of founding the Turkic Judicial Training Network together with Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Hungary here. We hope to see the judicial training institutions of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Turkmenistan among us in the upcoming period,” Hasan Yılmaz, Deputy Minister of Justice and member of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors, said. 

DEPUTY MINISTER YILMAZ: WE HAVE ACHIEVED OUR GOAL OF ESTABLISHING A TURKIC JUDICIAL TRAINING NETWORK

Delivering a speech at the Turkic Judicial Training Network Meeting held in Istanbul, Hasan Yılmaz, Deputy Minister of Justice and member of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors, stated that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit, attaches importance to the strengthening of ties between the countries. Expressing that they are pleased to do their part to strengthen cooperation in the field of judiciary, Yılmaz noted that they have increased the number of judges, prosecutors and staff by more than 200 percent as a result of the work carried out in the last two decades. Yılmaz said that they have introduced many innovations to the law and especially to the system of admission to the professions of judges and prosecutors with the judicial packages enacted into law within the scope of the reform process they initiated in 2019. 

Yılmaz pointed out that the interview held for admission to the professions of judges and prosecutors is now conducted by a wider committee, saying: "We have introduced the practice of exam of entrance to the legal professions in order to improve the professional quality. It is now necessary to be successful in the exam of entrance to legal professions in order to enter the professions of judge, prosecutor, lawyer and notary."

AN INDICATION OF OUR REFORMIST IDENTITY

Emphasizing that the training of members of judiciary all over the world is a very important issue, Deputy Minister Yılmaz said: “We have been supporting the idea of founding Turkic Judicial Network from the very beginning as an indication of our reformist identity in the field of judicial training. Today, we have achieved our goal of founding the Turkic Judicial Training Network together with Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Hungary here. We hope to see the judicial training institutions of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Turkmenistan among us in the upcoming period. I firmly believe that permanent and effective international cooperation in the field of law will be established with the Turkic Judicial Training Network. Significant improvements will be made in developing a common judicial culture. I also think that by creating a common dictionary of law among the countries involved in the Turkic world, the countries will converge with the common terminology of law.”

ISTANBUL CHIEF PUBLIC PROSECUTOR YILMAZ: OUR BILATERAL RELATIONS WILL CONTINUE

Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Şaban Yılmaz, on the other hand, stated that Istanbul is big in terms of jurisdiction, as well as city area. At the signing ceremony on the founding of the Turkic Judicial Training Network in Cooperation with the Organization of Turkic States, Yılmaz stated that cooperation with all countries will continue. “Istanbul is a cosmopolitan city. In other words, it is a place that hosts people from almost every country in the world. A lot of people, especially from Turkic states and Turkic Republics, are now here. We have to be in good terms with the embassies and consulates of those countries here. Our bilateral relations continue under the auspices of our ministry,” he added. 

ÖZDEMİR, PRESIDENT OF THE JUSTICE ACADEMY OF TÜRKİYE: WE WILL SHARE THE VALUES OF THE REPUBLIC OF TÜRKİYE

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Muhittin Özdemir, President of the Justice Academy of Türkiye, noted that a memorandum of understanding was signed among the Academies of the Prosecutor General's Office and Judge Training Academies affiliated to the Higher Judicial Institutions of the Turkic States which are under the umbrella of the Organization of Turkic States. 

“The Memorandum of Understanding is one of the main works aimed at the Nakhchivan Agreement's goal of working on the rule of law and human rights. In the final declaration released at the Council of State Summit held in Istanbul last year under the chairmanship of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, it was envisaged to cooperate in the field of justice among others. Today is the first day that this text has become concrete. Hopefully, after the signing ceremony, we will carry out joint studies on the training of judges and prosecutors within the Organization of Turkic States. Hopefully, we will share the values that the Republic of Türkiye has developed in the field of justice and law with brotherly and friendly countries,” President Özdemir said. 

A HISTORICAL TURNING POINT

Özdemir stated that the process of cooperation between signatory countries, including the five member states as well as Hungary as an observer, will increasingly continue. “We also have an idea of organizing an international Symposium on the History of Turkic Law with the theme of "Understanding of Justice in Turkic States" on the 100th anniversary of the Republic. We also have close relations among our judicial training institutions. On a mutual basis, study visits have been paid to judicial institutions and various trainings, meetings and conferences have been attended. Our bilateral relations will continue to increase. It is an important step to create an institutional structure in order to have a long-term and consistent strategy for strengthening the common understanding of justice in the Turkic world and developing and strengthening high-quality judicial training. I hope that the Turkic Judicial Training Network, the foundations of which we will lay here today, will be instrumental in further strengthening these relations. I believe that the Turkic Judicial Training Network is a historical turning point in terms of strengthening and institutionalizing our relations in the field of judicial training. I would like to express my gratitude to all of you for your sincerity, willingness and all your efforts in the founding of this network,” Özdemir said. 

After the speeches, the participants signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the Founding of the Turkic Judicial Training Network.