Within the scope of “Strengthening the Institutional Capacity of the Court of Cassation” jointly carried out by the Court of Cassation and the Council of Europe, the international symposium on “Excellence in High Courts of Appeal” was held online on 04 June 2021.

The President of the Court of Cassation Mr. Mehmet AKARCA, in his opening speech at the symposium, expressed that the foundation of the judicial system is based on the trust of the public in the independence and impartiality of the courts, the integrity of judges and the efficiency of judicial processes, and that the reform works carried out by the Court of Cassation in recent yeas are built on three main pillars: ethics, transparency and the efficiency of the judiciary. 

Stating that more detailed guides specific to each type of court are needed in order to talk about a true court excellence, Mr. Akarca added: “I think the high courts that act on this issue deserve a separate category.”

Emphasizing the importance of the Court of Cassation’s successful implementation of measurement and evaluation systems by developing some court tools in recent years, Mr. Akarca stated that the reforms in court management provided significant progress in terms of effectiveness and efficiency.

With the symposium, it is aimed to integrate this knowledge in the international arena with the experience and culture of the Court of Cassation by making use of the experiences of the National Center for State Courts, the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ), International Framework for Court Excellence and High Court of Spain.

The symposium, which was held in two sessions, was attended by the First Vice Presidents of the Court of Cassation, Heads of Chambers, Secretary General and Members of the Court of Cassation, rapporteur judges and public prosecutors of the Court of Cassation, as well as Head of the Council of Europe Programme Office in Ankara Mr. Cristian URSE, Vice President of the Court Consulting Services Division, National Center for State Courts of the United States of America Mr. Daniel HALL, Former President of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice and Member of the Bureau Mr. Georg STAWA, President-Elect of the American Judges Association’s Executive Committee and Board of Governors and Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Guam, Mr. Robert J. TORRES, CCJE Representative from Spain and Senior Judge of the 2nd Section Administrative Chamber of the National High Court of Spain, Mr. Manuel FERNANDEZ-LOMANA.

Mr. Sali Murati, the President of the Constitutional Court of North Macedonia, visited Mr. Mehmet Akarca, the President of the Court of Cassation, within the context of a two-day working visit to Türkiye.

At the meeting, Mr. Murati was accompanied by the members of the Constitutional Court, Ms. Elena Gosheva, Mr. Jovan Josifovski, Dr. Osman Kadriu, and Legal Adviser Ms. Ljubica Angelova. The meeting was also attended by the Chief Public Prosecutor of the Court of Cassation, Mr. Bekir Şahin, Vice First Presidents Mr. Eyüp Yeşil and Mr. Adem Albayrak, Secretary General Mr. Fevzi Yıldırım and Bench Member Mr. Bilgin Başaran.

Expressing his pleasure with the visit, the President of the Court of Cassation Mr. Mehmet Akarca reminded friendly and brotherly relations between Türkiye and North Macedonia and stated that the Constitutional Court of North Macedonia’s visit will make contributions to the further development of bilateral relations between the two states. Providing information about the Court of Cassation and Turkish judicial system Mr. Akarca noted that the number of cases have significantly decreased thanks to Appeallate Courts, as a result of which the role of the Court of Cassation in ensuring the unity of case law in Türkiye has become much stronger.

The President of the Constitutional Court of North Macedonia, Mr. Sali Murati also expressed his pleasure to be in Türkiye and noted that this visit strengthened the fruitful cooperation based on the exchange of knowledge and experience between the two high courts, and that the high courts played a very significant role in ensuring the rule of law. Referring to the importance of dialogue between judges based on mutual goodwill, respect and solidarity, Mr. Murati also gave information about the duties of the Constitutional Court of North Macedonia.

As the official guest of the President of the Court of Cassation Mr. Mehmet Akarca, President of the Supreme Court of Montenegro Mrs. Vesna Medenica and the accompanying delegation made official contacts in Türkiye.

During the delegation’s visit to the Court of Cassation, a “Memorandum of Cooperation” was signed between the Supreme Court of Montenegro and the Court of Cassation in order to institutionalize the long-standing relations based on mutual knowledge and experience.

Within the scope of the Memorandum of Cooperation, the collaboration areas that are envisaged are as follows:

• The appellate reviews which are subject for judicial activities of high courts
• The application of comparative law
• Mutual sharing of knowledge and experience on administration of justice
• Examination of national judicial systems,
• Sharing legal information and legal transactions,
• Joint scientific studies in the form of seminars, symposiums and international conferences

The relationship between the two high courts have intensified due to scientific meetings held in Türkiye and Montenegro especially within the last five years.

In this context, numerous international works such as “III. International Summit of High Courts”, “European Union Member States and Candidate Countries High Courts Conference”, “International Terrorism and Illegal Immigration Conference” and “Working Forum for the Balkan States’ General Prosecutors” were organized by the two high courts.

Upon visiting Anıtkabir and wreath-laying to Ataturk’s mausoleum, the Montenegrin Supreme Court delegation visited the Ministry of Justice, Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Court of Cassation, Justice Academy and Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and received information about the Turkish judicial system and reforms carried out.

President of European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) Mr. Robert Spano, who is on a two-day official visit to Türkiye, visited Mr. Mehmet Akarca. Mr. Spano was accompanied by the national judge at ECHR, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Saadet Yüksel and Second Section Registrar Hasan Bakırcı. The meeting was attended by Mr. Bekir Şahin, the Chief Public Prosecutor of the Court of Cassation, Mr. Eyüp Yeşil, the President of the 16th Criminal Chamber, and Mr. Fevzi Yıldırım, Secretary General of the Court of Cassation.    

Mr. Mehmet Akarca, President of the Court of Cassation stated that the reforms regarding the rule of law and human rights in Türkiye are proceeding and judicial packages are put into practice for this purpose. He also added that the Superior Courts Network, established within the body of the ECHR, has facilitated judges and public prosecutors to follow ECHR case-law. Giving information about the Court of Cassation and the Turkish judicial system, Mr. Akarca recorded that the establishment of regional appellate courts have considerably reduced the number of files, as a result of this, the role of the Court of Cassation as ensuring stare decisis in Türkiye gained power. He also expressed his great satisfaction with the visit made.

            Mr. Robert Spano, President of ECHR, expressed that this visit has allowed him to acquire useful information about Türkiye. He stated that all the judges in the European Region should develop a common understanding of law regarding the implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights, in order to achieve this, it would be beneficial for everyone to fulfill their roles and responsibilities. He recorded that the difference of opinion between the ECHR and the national courts from time to time is by its very nature, so being aware of this fact, a common understanding and balance must be developed with good will and cooperation

             Türkiye’s elected judge at ECHR, Assoc. Prof.Dr. Saadet Yüksel pointed out the importance of dialogue between judges and stated that it would be beneficial to hold regular working group meetings between the judges of the Court of Cassation and judges of ECHR as in the past, in this way, a balance and harmonization can be achieved in areas of dissensus.

With the adoption of Court of Cassation Codes of Conduct in the last quarter of 2017, many mechanisms have been established for the proper functioning of the judicial ethics system, the most important of these is “Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee”. Established in a transparent and democratic way, the Committee is independent from the governing and disciplinary bodies and is considered as the most important guarantee of the adaptation power of ethical principles to changing conditions. Hence, in order to wider disseminate the decisions of the Committee and develop a common understanding of judicial ethics in Türkiye, “Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee Decisions Symposium” was organized in Ankara on October 11, 2019.

Click here for Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee Decisions and the Relevant Legislation Book

Click here for the brochure of Judicial Ethics Advisory Committe