Association of Judicial Unity

History

Founded in 2014 by members of the judiciary concerned about the future of the judicial system in Turkey, the Platform of the Judicial Unity has evolved to become the Association of Judicial Unity on March 27, 2015. The conception bringing the Platform into existence has been maintained during the creation of YBD. The members of YBD undertake to make efforts in order to protect the independence and impartiality of the judiciary and thus preserving the public trust in the judiciary by taking a stance equidistant to all kinds of political opinions, philosophical or religious beliefs and convictions.

YBD’s first General Assembly meeting will be held on September 12, 2015.

Aims and Vision of YBD

According to the Charter, YBD’s objectives and principles can be summarized as follows;

The Rule of Law, which is one of the fundamental values of today’s democracies, will only be possible with a strong judicial power. Such a strong judicial power requires ensuring the independence, impartiality and accountability of the judiciary. In this connection, independence of the judiciary, which is a prerequisite for the rule of law, serves as a guarantee for the right to a fair trial and also as a fundamental guarantee of a democratic society. The notion of independence, which finds its meaning in the Constitution and which is also mentioned in the international instruments, makes it essential that one acts in accordance with the Constitution and the laws and only and solely on his/her personal conviction and that no adherence to any other person, institution or formation is allowed. Independence from the public opinion and non-judicial government institutions must be ensured and maintained. Independence must be secured within the judiciary as well.

The notion of impartiality refers to the necessity that members of the judiciary must, in compliance with the law without any influence during the decision-making processes, adopt an equitable approach to parties. Accordingly, it is incumbent on the State to enable the execution of judicial activities without any inherent fear or distress, and judges and prosecutors have also their share of responsibility in this regard. Another issue of importance as for a democratic rule of law is the accountability and transparency. Independence and impartiality could develop into an identity, which is in conformity with democracy, only through the mechanisms of accountability.

The Association of Judicial Unity ("YBD") has emerged as a civil initiative of the members of the judiciary with a view to exerting efforts in this regard. The understanding bringing YBD into existence is to protect the independence and impartiality of the judiciary and thus to maintain the public trust in the judiciary, without adopting any political stance and by avoiding from political disputes. YBD has aimed to provide all kinds of efforts for a judicial administration which would afford a working environment free from threats and oppression within the judiciary; eliminate and satisfy all of the concerns and expectations as regards the issues of assignment, transfer, authorization, promotion and inspection; and adopt an approach responsive to individual or family-related requests of members of the judiciary. YBD will carry out works with a view to developing an effective and well-functioning judiciary system which has internalized the human rights and which takes as basis only the public trust and public satisfaction. It will also observe the satisfaction of members of the judiciary and judicial staff. In this context, activities will be carried out for the purposes of ensuring that the judiciary system adopts new practices, that the working conditions are improved, that the judiciary comes to a point which enables it to cope with the case-load and that the communication between judicial institutions and other judicial actors is improved; and proposals will be developed in order to achieve judicial excellence.

The main character of this formation consists of a participatory approach and an understanding of taking a stance equidistant to all kinds of political opinions, philosophical or religious beliefs and convictions. The pre-eminence of the rights and the rule of law are the indispensable aims pursued by YBD. The members of YBD undertake to make efforts in order to maintain this structure, and to observe the independence and impartiality of the judiciary as well as the tenure of judges.

YBD will conduct its works by taking the following instruments as basis: the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey, the European Convention on Human Rights, the United Nations Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary, the United Nations Principles on the Role of Prosecutors, the Council of Europe Recommendation on Independence, Efficiency and Role of Judges; the European Charter on the Statute for Judges, the United Nations Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct; Recommendations of the Committee of Minister of the Council of Europe and the Consultative Council of European Judges (CCJE), the Universal Charter of the Judge, the Budapest Principles adopted for prosecutors, the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption, and other relevant international instruments and standards.

Membership in YBD

There are two categories of membership with YBD.

Invitation to Membership

Honorary membership may be granted by the decision of the Board of Directors to those who are not entitled to have the right to full membership, but are showing commitment, both in Turkey and abroad, to the principles and objectives of YBD and make contributions for the achievement of its objectives.

Direct Application for Membership

Persons who are eligible for full membership in YBD and are willing to be a member of YBD shall be required to indicate names and member ID numbers of at least three members of YBD who could invite him or her to membership.

Bodies Of YBD

Administrative Committee

Chairmanship Council

İlhan AYAZ
Harun KODALAK
Ayhan AKYÜREK

Secretary General

Dr. Birol KIRMAZ

Deputies of the Secretary General

Fetih SAYIN
Ali ÇALIK

Treasurer

Hakan YÜKSEL

Press Agent

Abbas ÖZDEN

Foreign Relations Commissioner

Cafer ERGEN

Board of Directors

Musa HEYBET
Dr. Gürsel ÖZKAN
Mehmet GÖKPINAR
Hakan PEKTAŞ
Şerafettin ELMACI
Erkan ÖZKAYA

Founding Members

1. Yılmaz ACER
2. Kemal AÇIKGÖZ
3. İstiklal AKKAYA
4. Beyazıt AKÖZ
5. Lütfü AKSOY
6. Berrin AKSOYAK
7. Ayhan AKYÜREK
8. Turgay ATEŞ
9. İlhan AYAZ
10. Alpaslan AZAPAĞASI
11. Basri BAĞCI
12. Bilgin BAŞARAN
13. Atnan BAŞKESEN
14. Mustafa ÇAKMAK
15. Ali ÇALIK
16. Hamit ÇALIK
17. İbrahim ÇATALKAYA
18. İsa ÇELİK
19. Ahmet ÇİÇEKLİ
20. Veli DALGALI
21. Çetin DURAK
22. Mehmet DURGUN
23. Şerafettin ELMACI
24. Cafer ERGEN
25. Ertan ERKAN
26. Sinan ESEN
27. Aydoğan Levent GEDİK
28. Mehmet GÖKPINAR
29. Musa HEYBET
30. Esat IŞIK
31. Erdoğan İSHAKOĞLU
32. Seydi KAHVECİ
33. Musa KANICI
34. Ali Rıza KARAKAN
35. Yılmaz KARAPOTUK
36. Rıza KARTAL
37. Ramazan KAYA
38. Şaban KAZDAL
39. Ömer KERKEZ
40. Hayri KESKİN
41. Vahit KINALITAŞ
42. Metin KIRATLI
43. Dr. Birol KIRMAZ
44. Halil KOÇ
45. Harun KODALAK
46. Mehmet Reşat KOPARAN
47. Cengiz KÖKSAL
48. Turan KULOĞLU
49. Talip KURT
50. Selda BİNBOĞA KURTULUŞ
51. Selahattin MENTEŞ
52. Gülsüm MISIR
53. Fatih MUŞMAL
54. Hasan ODABAŞI
55. Mehmet ODABAŞI
56. İlyas ÖZBEK
57. Halit Selçuk ÖZBEN
58. Abbas ÖZDEN
59. Dr. Gürsel ÖZKAN
60. Erkan ÖZKAYA
61. Muharrem ÖZKAYA
62. Seyithan ÖZTÜRK
63. Zekiye ÖZTÜRK
64. Hakan PEKTAŞ
65. İbrahim PEKTAŞ
66. Aytekin SAKARYA
67. Zekai Yusuf SARIBAY
68. Bülent SAVTOK
69. Çınar SAY
70. Fetih SAYIN
71. Gönül SAYIN
72. İbrahim Halil SELCIK
73. Sezer SÖYLEMEZ
74. Abdullah ŞAHİN
75. Cihan ŞAHİN
76. İbrahim ŞAHİN
77. Zeynep ŞAHİN
78. Feyzullah TAŞKIN
79. Ömür TOPAÇ
80. Cengiz TOPAKTAŞ
81. Metin YANDIRMAZ
82. Erdinç YILMAZ
83. Mehmet YILMAZ
84. Ömrü YILMAZ
85. Hakan YÜKSEL