High judiciary burden to ease as Parliament passes judicial reform

In what could be seen as a major step to alleviate the huge judicial backlog in Turkey, Parliament approved a bill February 9 that aims to overhaul the high judiciary by opening new chambers in the Supreme Court of Appeals and the Council of State. The changes bring the total number of chambers in the Supreme Court of Appeals to 38 and increase the number of Council of State Chambers to 15, adding 137 judges to the Court of Appeals and 61 to the Council of State. The law will go into effect with President Gul’s approval.

Critics charge the Government with “stacking” the judiciary and eliminating the checks and balances that the traditional judiciary provided. The Government points out, however, that the existing system has resulted in a backlog of tens of thousands of cases and the release of criminals without prosecution after being incarcerated for 10 years and more without trial.

Source: Today’s Zaman