Speaking to Daily Sabah, Justice Minister Bozdağ asserted that the regional courts of justice and courts of appeal which will come into effect in July will shorten the prosecution process, thus significantly changing the judicial system. Bozdağ also expressed that due to the reforms they have actualized, there has been a substantive decline in the number of applications against Turkey at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) over the last three years. With reference to discussions about updating article 299 of Turkish Penal Code, which sets penalties for insulting the president, Bozdağ indicated that there are similar laws in EU member countries, also in many countries around the world, thus stating that it was not possible to justify critique of Turkey regarding this issue.Stating that the tone of critique toward judicial process in the European Parliament's (EP) Turkey progress report are biased, subjective and overtly partial, Bozdağ expressed that the EU's reluctance to open the 23rd chapter on judiciary and fundamental rights even though it was prioritized, is an example of the EU not honoring its commitment, and added that opening said chapter would be a turning point for Turkey-EU relations, while deepening the relationship.DS: In the EP's Turkey progress report there are expressions like "independence of judiciary and balance of powers are in shambles since 2014" and "prosecutors and judges are under heavy political pressure." What is your take on these expressions?It is not possible to accept the critique under the judicial process segment of the report. Unfortunately, the report has a biased, subjective and overtly partial tone. This tone is a reflection of its author's personal and political views.I would like to signify that the current decisions and reports from the EP regarding our country are far from being objective. The reports include the claims of certain terrorist organizations and countries as if they are facts. In this sense, we perceive in particular the inclusion of 1915 incidents from Armenia's viewpoint, or the call to us to be respectful of the Greek Cypriot Administration of South Cyprus's surveys for hydrocarbon within the economic borders of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, to be intentional and ill-willed.We see that the same biased language continues to exist in the judicial part of the report. However, since 2002, AK Party governments have been exacting regulations to improve social rights and freedoms. None of these reforms can surely be considered to be limiting or disenabling rights.Firstly, with the 2010 constitutional referendum, the structure, status and elections to the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) were reformed. After this date, no further steps have been taken to damage or incapacitate the said reform. The first members of HSYK were chosen in 2010, and were renewed in 2014 in accordance with the constitution.It should be noted that according to the constitution, the minister of justice has two separate duties, as both the minister of justice and the chair of HSYK. These are two different and independent posts, as the duties and prerogatives of each post are distinguished according to the constitution. However in the critique, this reality is being disregarded.Judges are independent in their duties. They decide with their personal convictions and in accordance with the constitution and laws. Thus, they refuse any influence. However, certain prosecutors and judges who are connected with the Gülenist Movement, consider breaking the law for their movement almost as a form of worship. This is a fact known by all in Turkey.In the report, it is said that the stations of prosecutors and judges were involuntarily changed, which I see it as an unfair critique. There was not a single mention about this issue in the 2013 progress report, as if changing stations of prosecutors and judges did not exist at the time. I have the statistics. Prosecutors and judges were appointed to different posts over previous years: in 2011, 34percent; in 2012, 29 percent; in 2013, 17 percent; and in 2014, 25. About these appointments, 64 percent were voluntary in 2011; 52 percent in 2012; 82 percent in 2013; and 72 percent in 2014. As can be seen after 2014, 25 percent of all prosecutors and judges were appointed somewhere else, while 72 percent of these moves were voluntary. Therefore, there has not been a change in procedures. Moreover, there is an improvement in voluntary changes of stations. This fact alone indicates under whose influence this report was written.DS: While the 23rd chapter was prioritized by EU, the negotiations have yet to start. How do you evaluate this situation?Unfortunately, we cannot say that the EU is fulfilling its commitments to Turkey. Turkey completed the screening process for the 23rd chapter approximately 10 years ago, and has actualized political and legal reforms to fulfill the designated criteria to open the chapter. We have expressed this to EU officials, many of whom recognize our situation. However, submitting to the political blackmailing of the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus, the EU has not taken any initiative to open the said chapter. Therefore, this chapter is unfortunately politically blockaded by the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus. Despite this, we are continuing to fulfill our commitments for the EU accession process.As you know, there is an increasing traffic in communication with the EU due to the refugee crisis. In this process, as the Ministry of Justice, we are in cooperation with the Ministry for EU Affairs in order to open this chapter. We are expecting the EU to complete the process and open the chapter.DS: While the negotiations of the 23rd chapter have not started yet, are there any efforts to fulfill the criteria?Firstly, our ministry is doing everything in its capacity to fulfill the criteria. Before the official negotiations, the unofficial opening criteria of the 23rd chapter are mostly satisfied and the required steps for adopting the union acquis are done. However, because of the time passed since the completion of these criteria and the developments in the union acquis and our country's judicial system, there is a need to update.To realize these efforts, four different study groups within the ministry have been established. These groups are working for increasing harmonization and enforcement capacity. They have shared the subjects of EU legislation list according to their own fields, and then started to work on harmonization. The screening process for EU legislation was completed and the documents were sent to the Ministry of EU Affairs, to be relayed on to the European Commission.We are continuing our work on the 23rd and 24th chapters. Technical studies are maintained in cooperation with the European Commission. We believe that opening these chapters will be a turning point for Turkey-EU relations and will result in a deepened relationship.DS: While Turkey had the most files in the European Court of Human Rights in past years, it has since improved its standing and now it is third. What are the recent developments and are there any studies to improve this standing?There has been a significant decline in application numbers within the last three years. According to the latest statistics, there were 16,876 pending applications on Dec. 31, 2012, which by March 31, 2016 has decreased to 8,450. Similarly, the numbers of pending applications are 1,000 less when compared to the same time last year. Moreover, there is a significant decrease also in the numbers of infringement decisions by the European Court of Human Rights against Turkey.Certainly the reforms which were actualized by our government, the legal packages compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, the newly established Human Rights Department within our ministry and the individual applications to the Constitutional Court were effective in addressing this situation.With a recent reform, we have enhanced the authority of the Indemnity Commission under our ministry. We believe that this will further decrease the numbers of applications at the European Court of Human Rights.In addition, these measures have also shown an effect in the execution of infringement decisions. Since 2012, there is a 15 percent drop in pending decisions.DS: Will you consult with the Venice Commission during the preparation of Turkey's new constitution?As you know, the Venice Commission is an important commission for constitutional matters. While its original purpose was to provide advice, lately we are observing that it is acting as a control mechanism and being tasked with political consideration by the Council of Europe. Their latest report about the Turkish Penal Code is biased. They disregarded the facts about article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code, which is about insults toward the president, and did not reflect these facts in the report. It is clear that this kind of methods will harm the Venice Commission's reputation and respectability, while making it harder for us to cooperate with them.Nevertheless, we may consider consulting with the commission during the preparation of the new constitution, as Turkey is one of the founding members of the Council of Europe and one of the grand payeurs, resulting in Turkish being accepted as one of the official languages of the council.DS: Is there an effort to update article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code? How do you perceive the criticism regarding this issue?It is not possible to accept the critique, while also not seeing the point of the continued discussion on this issue. According to the constitution, the president is the head of Turkey and is the representative of the nation's unity. Therefore any insult, regardless whether it be against his post or person, should not be considered as a part of crimes against people and honor. As with many other countries in Europe, we found that it was more fitting to consider this as a crime against the state. This article has been in our penal code for almost 90 years.There are similar laws in Germany, Denmark, France, Netherland, Spain, Sweden, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Greece. It exists in the penal code of almost all member countries of the EU, along with many other countries around the world.On the other hand, the ECtHR has not seen any issue with the existence of the law. They only indicated that every case should be evaluated according to its own circumstance, while also signifying the principle of proportionality within freedom of speech.Unfortunately, in our country, the insulting of the president takes the form of cursing. These expressions do not contain any criticism; they are just swearing. Besides insulting the president himself, his family and even his supporters are also targets. According to European Court of Human Rights' precedents, these cannot be regarded as freedom of speech; on the contrary, they are considered hate speech.Western correspondents are practicing double standards. We cannot condone criticism about this matter. We invite the Council of Europe and EU to be objective with us and to treat us fairly.DS: The duration of law suits continue to be an issue with the judicial system in Turkey. Are there any studies to speed up this process?Beside the efforts to improve physical and technical infrastructure, we are working on increasing the personnel numbers, and a reform which will hasten the resolution of simple conflicts. We are finishing the studies which will decrease the workload of criminal, civil and administrative courts. In the following days, we will be discussing this reform at the general assembly.We are taking certain measures which will make conciliation more than a formality, allowing many cases to be resolved without appearing in court. We are also working on resolving petty crimes more easily. With this reform, also known as plea bargaining, we will evaluate the suspect's confession and avoid investigations developing into prosecution. This will be applied to certain crimes at first, but if successful, we will extend its scope.Moreover, we will be implementing a time management system for the judiciary. With this application, the ideal duration for a trial will be determined. Citizens will be able to learn approximately when their conflict will be resolved. This will re-establish trust in the judicial system, while also enhancing the judiciary's performance and quality.One significant reform which was actualized by our government is that the scope of the institution of conciliation will be extended. We will make mediation compulsory for business lawsuits, which constitutes most legal conflicts, to resolve them quickly, while not harming any parties.DS: You are working on the establishment of regional courts of justice and courts of appeals. How will these new courts contribute to the judicial system?By July 20, 2016, these courts will start to work in seven different regions. The establishment of courts of appeals will be important in shortening the trial durations and providing timely justice. I believe it will be a revolutionary reform.In the current system, the Court of Cassation and Council of State act as courts of appeal, they also investigate the decisions coming from the courts of first instance. Because of the workload, their investigation can take many years.With the courts of appeal, a more robust investigation will be provided and there will be a decrease in the files being relayed to higher courts.When we look at the statistics about the files relayed to Court of Cassation, the courts of appeals will be able to finalize 91 percent of cases of criminal justice, 89 percent of civil justice and 80 percent of administrative justice.The courts of appeal will not be doing judicial investigations, reversing judgments and sending it back to local courts, as do the Court of Cassation and Council of State. It will complete the deficient aspects, correct the wrong aspects and make timely decisions.With these new courts, our citizens will be able to seek justice in their local courts without having to come to Ankara. If need be, regional administrative courts will be able to hear parties and witnesses, and explore the crime scene.Courts of appeal will be able to drop the cases which were prolonged, which will contribute greatly to our judicial system. I believe the method of appealing will become a new force in our judicial system after July 20. Hopefully with its successes, it will be highly beneficial for our people and our country.