Chief Justice Narin Ferdi Şefik: Significant Increase in Certain Crimes in Northern Cyprus

The Judicial Year for 2023-2024 commenced with a ceremony held at the Open Education Faculty in Lefkoşa. The ceremony was attended by Acting President and Speaker of the Assembly Zorlu Töre, Prime Minister Ünal Üstel, Chief Justice Narin Ferdi Şefik, Turkish Ambassador to the Republic of Northern Cyprus Metin Feyzioğlu, ministers, lawyers, and other officials.

The ceremony was also attended by the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Turkey Prof. Dr. Zühtü Arslan, President of the Council of State of the Republic of Turkey Muammer Topal, President of the Justice Academy of the Republic of Turkey Muhittin Özdemir, as well as representatives from the Court of Cassation and Council of State of the Republic of Turkey.

The Chief Justice Narin Ferdi Şefik mentioned that judges would receive training on cybercrimes from the Ministry of Justice of Turkey and the U.S. Embassy. She also highlighted that two employees responsible for the information processing center had received training under the Turkish Ministry of Justice, and they aimed to advance their current website.

Şefik emphasized that one of the country's biggest problems is the lack of adherence to rules, citing examples such as indiscriminate parking and littering on the roads. She suggested that community service sentences for environmental offenses should be implemented, such as assigning street sweeping and area cleaning penalties to those committing littering offenses, which she believed would significantly reduce such crimes.

Şefik noted that even authorities violated the law and did not apply the rules equally to everyone. She stated, "It is a well-known fact that even when there is a court decision, the administration stubbornly makes decisions in similar matters as if there were no decisions."

Regarding serious criminal cases, Şefik provided statistics showing an increase in certain crimes. She mentioned that in 2022, there were 33 cases of causing death as a result of reckless and careless acts. Furthermore, there were 63 cases of sexual assault, rape, child sexual abuse, and sexual harassment of children under 16 years of age in 2022. She also pointed out that there were 113 cases of fraud.

Şefik emphasized that measures to address the increasing number of crimes would not be achieved solely by prosecuting individuals and that the changing demographic structure contributed to such crimes.