Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu recently presented the 64th government's action plan in Ankara and listed various democratization reforms, which he said need to be implemented immediately. Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ recently met with members of the media and announced the new reforms for the judiciary that aim to ease the life of citizens through the Study and Analysis of Judicial Time Use Research Network [SATURN] Project Center. The government's action plan also contains legislative regulations for the first three months to protect personal data of citizens. During his meeting with members of the media, Bozdağ said there would be reforms that include the establishment of a judicial data bank, divisional courts, timely trials and certified expert witnesses. He also said that a committee would be established to determine what is and is not a state secret.
Prime Minister Davutoğlu and many other government officials have mentioned the need for a new constitution. Under the judicial reforms, the action plan says that there will be a legislative regulation to protect the personal data of citizens. The reform is to be enacted between Dec. 21 and March 21 in coordination with the Development Ministry, the National Defense Ministry and the Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communication Ministry as well as Information and Communication Technologies Authority. Bozdağ said that the reform would be the primary legislation that will be conveyed to Parliament and will be regulated by taking international documents and law enforcement into consideration.
Bozdağ visited the Ankara Courthouse on Tuesday where he received information on the latest developments regarding the Strengthening the Relations between Mass Media and the Judiciary project. Bozdağ visited the Media Communication Bureau that has been established as part of the project, and he stressed that the bureau aims to provide secure and accurate information on the judiciary to the public. Bozdağ on Tuesday said the reform also aims to prevent biased, misleading and false news about the judiciary, while providing the most up-to-date and accurate information.
As part of the plans for reform over the next six months, divisional courts are to be established in 2016 in which 81 percent of administrative jurisdiction cases will be finalized, according to Bozdağ. The court will also be responsible for performing judicial supervision and contingency enquiries, according to the action plan. This reform should be finalized by June 21, 2016. Regarding timely trials, Bozdağ said that once a person files a complaint, they would immediately be informed about the duration of the process's finalization. Everyone who files a complaint or goes to court is to be informed of the exact months and days of finalization. Bozdağ explained that this would begin next March.
Emphasizing further that it is highly significant for the institution of forensic medicine to be restructured, Bozdağ added that expert witnesses are to have certificates and that enhanced punishments would be established for those who prepare false reports. Another significant reform is the establishment of a State Secrets Committee that will determine whether a matter is a state secret or not. Bozdağ explained that currently the courts decide whether it is a state secret or not, but added that with the new law a new committee that is responsible for that matter will make the decision.
