The 2nd Steering Committee meeting of the European Union-Council of Europe Joint Project on “Promoting Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in Turkey” was held on 9 December 2021 in Ankara.
Following the opening speeches of Zekeriya Birkan, Deputy Minister of Justice of the Republic of Turkey, and Cristian Urse, Head of the Council of Europe Programme Office in Ankara, a general overview of the project was presented. This was followed by a briefing on findings and recommendations of the Result Oriented Mission Report. Information was also provided on the activities implemented during the period July-December 2021 under the conciliation and mediation/arbitration components, along with information on the project’s visibility. During the meeting, the work plan covering the activities from January to June 2022 was presented and approved upon the comments of the Steering Committee members.
Representatives from the Ministry of Justice – Directorate General for Criminal Affairs, Directorate General for Legal Affairs, Directorate General for Foreign Relations and EU Affairs, the Central Finance and Contracts Unit and the Council of Europe attended the meeting as members of the Steering Committee. In addition, representatives from other institutions, namely, the Delegation of the European Union to Turkey, the Directorate for EU Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey – Department of International Arbitration and Alternative Solutions, the Union of Turkish Bar Associations, the Justice Academy of Turkey, Istanbul Arbitration Centre (ISTAC), as well as representatives of the academia working in the field of conciliation, mediation and communication, one conciliator and one mediator contributed to the meeting as observing members.
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 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.
