This Project is co-financed by the European Union and the Council of Europe and is implemented by the Council of Europe.

Beneficiary Institution

The beneficiary institiutions of the Project are the Directorate General of Criminal Affairs of the Ministry of Justice of the Turkish Republic and the Justice Academy.

Stakeholders

The stakeholders of the Project are the Constitutional Court, Court of Cassation, Council of Judges and Prosecutors, Financial Crimes Investigation Board, Directorate General of Security (Department of anti-smuggling and organized crime, Department of Counter Terrorism, Department of Cyber Crime) and the Union of Turkish Bar Associations.

Target Groups

Activities for the following will be conducted within the scope of the Project:

• Judges and prosecutors dealing with criminal justice at First Instance Courts and Courts of Appeal, rapporteurs of the Turkish Constitutional Court (TCC) and rapporteur judges and prosecutors of the Court of Cassation,
• Judges and prosecutors working at the MoJ and TCJP,
• Prosecutors dealing with cybercrime,
• Experts working at the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK),
• The Anti-Smuggling and Counter-Organized Crime Department (KOM), the Counter-Terrorism Department (TEM), experts from the Anti-Cybercrime Department,
• Experts from Gendarmerie General Command,
• Experts from Forensic Medicine Institution (FMI),
• Inspectors of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors,
• Lawyers from the human rights centers of UTBA and Local Bar Associations,
• Experts of Information and Communication Technologies Authority.

Budget

“The total budget of the Project is 5 million euros and 90% of this amount is European Union contribution whereas 10% is Council of Europe contribution.”

Duration

The Project has started on 15 March 2019 and its duration is 48 months. It will end on 14 March 2023.

Objective of the Project

The overall objective of the Project is to further strengthen and make the Turkish judiciary more efficient, effective and visible by ensuring its compliance with the international and European standards in the field of criminal justice.

Specific objectives of the Project:

• To contribute to the improvement of criminal justice system in Turkey in applying European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR);
• To enhance the capacity of criminal justice institutions and legal professionals in applying ECHR provisions and European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) case law and strengthen their co-operation and awareness in the field of human rights law.

NEEDS ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES

Meetings with stakeholders will be conducted on various human rights issues, especially the areas that the Project focuses on (pre-trial detention, fairness of proceedings, cyber crimes and financing of terrorism) and also needs assessment missions will be carried out regarding the legislation and the current training materials that have been developed.

TRAININGS AND PUBLICATIONS

• TRAININGS

In the first phase, a separate working group will be established to update the already existing pre- and in-service training modules and materials in line with the training needs assessment report and to adapt / develop face-to-face training modules. In this context, materials will be developed by the members of the working group regarding the three thematic areas of the Project. Furthermore, required tools, strategies and plans for the assessment of the impact of the training seminars to be delivered within the scope of the Project will be developed and practical guiding documents will be prepared; in addition a seminar will be delivered to the Impact Assessment Unit of the Turkish Justice Academy on these topics.

In the scond phase, a pool of trainers consisting of judges and prosecutors will be established and face-to-face and complimentary training of trainers will be delivered to a total of 30 trainers. In addition, an online training of trainers will be delivered to 15 candidate trainer judges and prosecutors who will facilitate the online courses.

In the third phase, 20 trainings will be delivered within the scope of pre-service trainings by two trainers who participated the training of trainer activities; it is aimed to reach a total of 600 participants. As for in-service trainings, 50 training will be organized for a total of 1500 judges and prosecutors and also 300 judges and prosecutors will be trained within the scope of the Project through online courses on procedural safeguards, cybercrime and financing of terrorism.

• PUBLICATIONS

A working group will be established to develop practical reference tools; this group will be divided into three sub-groups dealing with the following specific topics: procedural safeguards in criminal matters, cybercrime and financing of terrorism. Manuals and guidelines on the mentioned three thematic areas will be prepared and disseminated to the relevant institutions.

Furthermore, an electronic library will be created for the Ministry of Justice with 100 online academic materials in the field of criminal justice with a specific focus on the Project’s thematic areas, in Turkish/English/French.

STUDY VISITS AND PLACEMENTS

• STUDY VISITS

It is aimed to organize three study visits to different EU Member States with the participation of 15 representatives from the stakeholders in order to observe the best practices in the field of criminal justice with a specific focus on procedural safeguards, cybercrime and financing of terrorism.

• PLACEMENTS

15 judges and prosecutors selected from the stakeholders to be appointed for one-month periods will be placed for internships in courts and judicial training organizations in EU Member States (5 people) and the relevant institutions of the Council of Europe (10 people) in order to observe and learn about the best practices on training methods and techniques as well as the focus areas of the Project

MEETINGS AND WORKSHOPS

• ROUND TABLE MEETINGS

Six regional round table meetings aiming at the participation of a total of 180 people will be organized in order to exchange ideas on the effective implementation of European human rights standards on procedural safeguards, cybercrime and financing of terrorism with the participation of judges, prosecutors, experts and lawyers.

• COORDINATION MEETINGS

Eight coordination meetings will be organized with the participation of 25 judges, prosecutors, experts and lawyers working in the field of cybercrime. In addition to these meetings; three meetings with the participation of a total of 90 participants will be organized in order to contribute to the dialogue between the Financial Crimes Investigation Board and the Information Technology and Communication Authority on the one hand and judges, prosecutors and judicial police dealing with terrorism on the other. Furthermore, three meetings will be organized aiming at a total of 90 participants in order to contribute to the dissemination of human rights standards and best practices amongst judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officials in the field of procedural safeguards in criminal matters.

• INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOPS

Two-day international workshops will be organised in order to exchange examples of good practices between Turkey and other CoE members in relation to the implementation of European human rights standards in the fields of procedural safeguards, cybercrime and financing of terrorism. The outcomes of the discussions will be presented in a brief recommendations paper and this report will be printed and disseminated in both the regional roundtable meetings and the international workshops.

INFORMATION CAMPAIGN

Wihin the scope of the information campaign;

• Five one-day open court events will be organised in the selected pilot courts in order to inform the citizens about their rights in relation to the functioning of the criminal justice system.
• 75.000 brochures will be prepared and disseminated to the relevant organisations in Turkey, informing citizens about their rights as protected by the ECtHR and Turkish High Courts.
• A website under the Ministry of Justice portal dedicated to the prevention of ECHR violations within the criminal justice system is aimed to be developed utilizing the material and resources produced within the scope of this Project.

SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS OF THE PROJECT

• Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/casprojesi.ankara/
• Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/cas_projesi/
• Twitter : https://twitter.com/project_cas
• YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_wxM_m-Um3OGW8bYCgFtTg?view_as=subscriber
• E-mail : cas.ankara@coe.int

Main expected results of the Project:

• Institutional capacity of Turkish judiciary and other authorities to deliver criminal justice in line with the ECHR standards is strengthened.
• Knowledge and skills of the Turkish legal professionals to apply European human rights in the field of criminal justice is enhanced.
• Co-operation and awareness among relevant institutions and enabling access to all citizens to criminal justice is improved.