Özerdağ: Judicial Reform Must Be Addressed Above Politics and Scheduled by Consensus

Speaking on BRT, Özerdağ said the judiciary was aware of its own problems and had proposed solutions to overcome them, adding that they expected the process to be scheduled through common consensus. He described it as regrettable that the issue had been politicized.

Appearing as a guest on Pembe Paşaoğluları’s program on BRT, Özerdağ evaluated the proposed judicial referendum concerning constitutional amendments related to the judiciary and provided information on how the process began, how it has progressed, and which points they consider sensitive.

Özerdağ recalled that constitutional amendments were brought to the agenda in 2014 but were rejected in a referendum, and that the same situation occurred again in 2020.

He noted that the need for certain constitutional changes is widely acknowledged by the public and regarded as unavoidable by all segments of society. Within this framework, he said, a decision was taken to move forward with concrete steps.

“We prepared amendments to overcome the bottlenecks in the judiciary”

Özerdağ stated that work had begun to complete the process by the end of March. He said they had examined how similar systems operate in other countries and had prepared amendments focused solely on the judiciary, aimed at overcoming existing bottlenecks in the judicial system.

He added that during the process they held meetings with relevant institutions as well as with the government and the opposition, and that all sides expressed support for the proposed changes in substance.

“We want it to be evaluated above politics and scheduled through consensus and common will”

Özerdağ said they expected the issue to be embraced by the entire political leadership and addressed seriously in order to reach a solution, emphasizing that the reforms should not be turned into political material.

He stated that following recent meetings, the politicization of the issue had deeply disappointed them. Referring to discussions held with the prime minister and the leader of the main opposition, Özerdağ said they had requested that the matter be evaluated above politics and scheduled accordingly through consensus, adding that they had no problem with whatever date might be chosen.

Özerdağ underlined that if a better judiciary is desired, these changes must be implemented. He added that no one had raised objections to the substance of the proposed amendments and said he could not understand why an issue that had already achieved social consensus was being turned into an area of conflict in parliament.