An International Symposium on Conciliation took place in Istanbul, on 9 May 2024 in the scope of the European Union-Council of Europe Joint Project on “Promoting Alternative Dispute Resolution in Turkey”. The event was organized by the Council of Europe in cooperation with the Turkish Ministry of Justice Directorate General of Criminal Affairs, which started with the opening speeches of Mr Yılmaz TUNÇ, Minister of Justice, Mr William MASSOLIN, Head of the Council of Europe Programme Office in Ankara, and Mr Ali ÖZTÜRKMEN, Director General for Criminal Affairs of the Ministry of Justice, with live broadcast on YouTube.
The symposium brought together more than 200 national and international participants from a broad spectrum of stakeholders to address the key issues related to conciliation as a part of alternative dispute resolution, including new practices, approaches, and ethical aspects within the alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
Within this framework, a number of presentations and assessments were made in the symposium on conciliation in restorative justice, including Austrian conciliation practices, ethics for conciliators, preparation of the conciliator for the planning and processing of negotiations, the nature of conciliation in the Turkish Legal System and Comparative Law, contributions of the Project for Development of Alternative Dispute Resolution in Turkey in the context of conciliation, perspectives of prosecutors and lawyers of the parties, criminal liability of the conciliator and crime reporting obligations.
The reports and publications that will be produced to share the symposium presentations and evaluations with a wider audience are of great value in terms of sustainability of the project outcomes.
The Joint Project on “Promoting Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in Turkey” is co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe. The Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Türkiye – Directorate General for Criminals Affairs and Directorate General for Legal Affairs are the end beneficiaries of the Project. The Central Finance and Contracts Unit is the contracting authority.
