This year, the 11th International Summer School program was organized by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Turkey within the Association of Asian Constitutional Courts and Equivalent Institutions (AAMB) in a hotel in Ankara.
The topic of this year's meeting, held with the participation of Arslan, was "Judicial Independence as a Guarantee of the Right to a Fair Trial".
Constitutional Court President Arslan made a speech in the program titled "The Principle of Judicial Independence as a Sign of the Democratic State of Law".
Arslan stated that judicial independence is not only a guarantee of the right to a fair trial.
"As emphasized in the decisions of the Turkish Constitutional Court, judicial independence is the main and most effective guarantee of all other fundamental rights and freedoms, as well as the right to a fair trial," Arslan said.
"JUDGES SHOULD NOT BE UNDER INFLUENCE"
Continuing his speech, Arslan also touched upon the independence of the courts and referred to Article 138 of the Constitution titled "Independence of the Courts".
"This article includes obligations, one for courts and judges and the other for non-judicial actors. First of all, judicial independence means that judges make decisions according to their conscientious convictions, without being influenced by any influence, in order to ensure judicial impartiality. In the words of our Constitutional Court, independence means 'the judge's ability to make decisions freely, without hesitation or concern, and without being under any external influence other than the requirements prescribed by law'. In this sense, judicial independence aims to 'deliver justice free of any direct or indirect influence, pressure, manipulation and suspicion.' Arslan added.
Arslan pointed out that judicial independence is a prerequisite for ensuring the impartiality of the judge.
Explaining that the judge's impartiality means that he does not have any thoughts or prejudices in favor or against the parties, Arslan expressed the following opinions:
"It is very important that the parties have an opinion that the judge is impartial. For this, the judge must be very careful and hold the scales of justice with the precision of a jeweler. Omar (r.a.), the second of the four caliphs of Islam, wrote a letter to Abu Musa, whom he appointed as a judge in Basra, stating that the judge should decide the case before him by treating the parties equally, even in his view," Arslan said.
"NO ONE CAN GIVE ORDERS AND INSTRUCTIONS TO THE COURTS"
Arslan also stated that Article 138 of the Constitution "gives clear and precise warnings to non-judicial actors" and noted that the first of these is "negative obligation in the sense of non-intervention".
"Accordingly, no organ, office, authority or person can give orders or instructions, or even make recommendations or suggestions, to courts and judges in the exercise of judicial power. Our Constitution has specifically regulated this prohibition of intervention for the legislative body. No questions can be asked, no discussions can be held or any statements can be made in the parliament regarding the exercise of judicial power regarding a case under review," Arslan added.
Arslan noted that the positive obligation imposed by the Constitution on those who use public power regarding judicial independence is the effective execution of judicial decisions.
Stating that this obligation is a complementary element of judicial independence, Arslan stated that the legislative, executive and administrative authorities are obliged to implement court decisions without changing or delaying them.