President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the 23rd Draw Ceremony for Judges and Public Prosecutors of Judiciary via video conference.
President Erdoğan wished success in their career for 1,379 judges and public prosecutors, whose places of duty would be designated, adding, “The saying ‘Justice is the foundation of the state,’ inscribed on the walls of courtrooms and courthouses in which you will be working, should be guiding you all the time. It is not possible for anyone, who does not believe that justice is the most fundamental element for the existential struggle of humanity and that the world stands on justice, to perform this profession duly.”
Stating that the judges and public prosecutors function in line with the constitution, laws and other legislation, Erdoğan said, “Remember that their own conscience is the main supervisor of judges and prosecutors. The words on a paper have no meaning for those who have no sense of integrity, truth, morality and an understanding of justice surrounded by all these in their inner world. Good judges and public prosecutors can establish justice with a mediocre law, but even the most perfect laws can also turn into an instrument of persecution in the hands of judges and prosecutors who have no conscience.”
Erdoğan pointed out that besides the main sources of ancient beliefs about the fine line between justice and persecution were the warnings and views of many philosophers and statesmen, and addressed the judges and public prosecutors as follows:
“In a society where people do not trust justice, the climate of peace and security cannot be maintained, nor can a state order be ensured. Turkey has unfortunately suffered such problems in various periods in the past. Our justice system, which has fallen under the influence of coups and powers of tutelage or sometimes terrorist organizations such as FETO, was crumpled up in the eyes of our nation to a great extent. The execution of late Menderes and his friends, the September 12 trials and the conspiracies by the FETO betrayal gang have also left traces in the memory and hearts of our nation. As a result, I request you to put your conscience and signature under the order of no one and no power, except for the fear of God and the laws you have to enforce. Do not doubt that life will be more difficult for you when you act like this, but the peace and happiness you will feel when you go to sleep cannot be compared with any of these problems.
The greatest legacy you will leave to your children will be an honourable, respectable and pure name that has dedicated its entire life to justice. If anyone of you wants to make a lot of money, you should know that you have chosen the wrong profession. You should have become a businessman, an entrepreneur or a professional senior manager. If anyone of you is in pursuit of glory and fame, you should also know that you have chosen the wrong profession. Those of you should have been an artist, a sportsperson, a politician or the influencer of any field. As judges and public prosecutors, your duty is to quietly protect the tower of justice, which has been entrusted to you, at the expense of your lives, if necessary, just like our deceased martyr Mehmet Selim Kiraz did. When you fulfil your duty properly, you will only be remembered as a good judge, a good public prosecutor. On the other hand, you will be labelled as an oppressor, as described by His Holiness Mevlana, if you fail to do your fair share of the work. I know that each of you was aware of the heavy responsibility you would undertake when choosing this profession.”
"We will appear before our nation with the new reform packages"
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that the reason for his reminders was to express his confidence in and expectation from the judges and public prosecutors who are actually at the stage of beginning their career.
Expressing that one could be confident about the future as long as we had the administrators, who felt the responsibility of the lambs grazing on the riverbanks of the Euphrates, and a justice system monitoring whether it is carried out properly, Erdoğan spoke "Even though we cannot be face to face, I believe that the hearts of all judges and public prosecutors are filled with the same feelings. As the President of this country, rest assured that I will stand by you in every decision you make, in every step you take in compliance with the constitution, the laws and, most importantly, your conscience. May God protect you and us from failure."
Erdoğan noted that, in addition to his confidence in judges and public prosecutors, there was also an effort to raise the standards of legislation and implementation in the country within the framework of the Judicial Reform Strategy announced to the public.
Recalling that the first two reform packages were adopted by The Grand National Assembly of Turkey (GNAT) and entered into force, Erdoğan said, "Hopefully, we will appear before our nation with the new reform packages in the new legislative year of the GNAT."
Erdoğan wished the mercy of God upon the security officers, the members of the judiciary and all the public officers, who were martyred while fighting for the survival of the country and the nation, and thanked the members of the judiciary, who work day and night, for their efforts and sacrifices.
Wishing success to candidate judges and public prosecutors at their places of duty to be designated by a draw, Erdoğan celebrated the Eid al-Fitr and wished it to be a means for solidarity and unity for the Muslim world.