Justice Minister calls on new jurists not to stray from path of justice
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The consciences of judges and prosecutors would produce an ‘intelligent judiciary’ if they avoided going astray in their quest for justice, Ergin says. DAILY NEWS photo
Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin has warned new judges and prosecutors not to mistake prejudice with a sense of justice.“Our judges and prosecutors who are expected to serve justice by our nation should always strive after wisdom, positive knowledge, the law and universal values. So long as they keep this stream of thoughts, it is a fact that they will not be derailed by their conscience from the way of law into arduous, dangerous paths,” Ergin said May 3 at a ceremony to draw lots for candidates to the profession in Ankara.
Ergin said the consciences of judges and prosecutors would produce an “intelligent judiciary” if they avoided going astray in their quest for justice. He also said the voices of prejudice and conscience should not be mixed.
Ergin warns new judges about unlawful practices
The minister also warned new judges and prosecutors about unlawful court practices. If a jurist gives an unpredictable verdict, the law will disturb and startle society instead of improving it, Ergin added.
“The rule of law has set up conditions to work in the scope of objective rules without the arbitrariness of jurists,” Ergin said. “Justice lexically means everything is in its proper place. And the precondition for it is that the judiciary act within its natural borders,” he said.
Turkey’s judicial system is often criticized due to ongoing controversial cases and verdicts given by courts. On April 20, the U.S. State Department expressed criticism in a 2012 report that despite the legal reforms, “the judicial system was politicized and overburdened and authorities continued to engage in arbitrary arrests.”
According to the report, the main problems that Turkey faces on the human rights agenda are deficiencies in access to justice and government interference with freedom of expression. The report also emphasized that journalists and writers remained incarcerated on terror crimes, which resulted in self-censorship.
Similarly, on April 19, the European Parliament’s General Assembly adopted a 2012 progress report on Turkey saying Turkey needed to step up efforts to guarantee freedom of expression, media freedom and all other fundamental freedoms in line with the values of the European Union.
