Within the framework of the EU-CoE Joint Project on “Promoting Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in Turkey”, the Council of Europe (CoE) is conducting a needs assessment analysis and drafting a comparative analysis of best practices of existing international models of conciliation. These will provide a set of recommendations and examples to be used for the improvement of the legal framework on conciliation in criminal cases in Turkey in line with international and European standards on restorative justice and juvenile justice.
The analysis will contribute to the definition of new models and mechanisms for strengthening the protection of rights of minors and juvenile-specific procedures and determine the types of actions for children in the conciliation process. Moreover, the outputs of this activity will support testing new models of conciliation in Turkey and promoting their implementation within the existing national legislation in order to provide an effective conciliation scheme for its users.
The first field assessment visit took place on 26-27 October 2021 at the Ankara Courthouse. Meetings were held with the attendance of representatives of the Ministry of Justice, judges and prosecutors of the Ankara, Elmadağ and Gölbaşı courthouses, the Ankara Bar Association, the Eskişehir Conciliators Association, NGOs, conciliators, academicians, as well as international and local CoE consultants and staff members. Discussions were held in relation to aspects of conciliation in criminal justice and juvenile law and the functional and conceptual aspects of the conciliators’ responsibilities and duties.
The second visit took place on 2-3 November 2021 at the İstanbul Çağlayan Courthouse, where the legal scope of the conciliation, categories of offences, monitoring of conciliation services, new models and mechanisms for strengthening the protection of minors’ rights were discussed with the representatives of the Ministry of Justice, judges and prosecutors of İstanbul Çağlayan, Bakırköy, Büyükçekmece, Küçükçekmece and Gaziosmanpaşa courthouses, conciliators, academicians and NGOs, including Conciliators’ Association.
The third visit was held on 4-5 November 2021 at the İstanbul Anadolu Courthouse and concentrated on issues related to the awareness activities on conciliation, code of conduct, specialisation and skill development for conciliators, etc. These were discussed with prosecutors and judges of İstanbul Anadolu, Şile, Beykoz courthouses, conciliators, academicians and NGOs, including the Restorative Justice Platform.
The fourth visit was organised on 8-9 November 2021 at the Ankara Batı Courthouse. The procedural timeframe allocated for the conciliation process, documents used during the conciliation process, national systematic data collection on conciliation, monitoring of conciliation services and existing inspection procedures were reviewed with the participation of prosecutors and judges of Ankara Batı, Beypazarı, Kahramankazan, Kızılcahamam courthouses, conciliators, the representatives of Union of Turkish Bar Associations and academicians.
Each visit also served as an opportunity to observe the physical conditions of the courthouses and conciliation interview rooms for the purpose of developing standards in establishing new conciliation interview rooms.
The CoE delegation was composed of international and local consultants, Ms Helena Soleto, Ms Mjriana Visentin and Mr Mustafa Serdar Özbek, and were accompanied by the representatives of the Directorate General for Criminal Affairs of the Ministry of Justice and CoE staff members.
The Joint Project on “Promoting Alternative Dispute Resolution 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 Turkey – 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.
