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ANKARA: Justice Ministry Requests Disbarment Of Controversial Jurist

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  • ANKARA: Justice Ministry Requests Disbarment Of Controversial Jurist

    JUSTICE MINISTRY REQUESTS DISBARMENT OF CONTROVERSIAL JURISTS

    Today's Zaman
    Nov 9 2009
    Turkey

    The Justice Ministry requested the disbarring of two top Turkish
    jurists on Monday -- controversial Sincan 1st High Criminal Court
    Chief Justice Osman Kacmaz and Judges and Prosecutors Association
    (YARSAV) President Omer Faruk Eminagaoglu -- upon the conclusion of
    its investigation into a series of questionable rulings that stretch
    back to 2008.

    The Justice Ministry's move comes upon the heels of a May ruling
    in which Kacmaz said President Abdullah Gul should stand trial in a
    decade-old fraud case despite constitutional constraints on the trial
    of a president for anything other than high treason. Justice Minister
    Sadullah Ergin emphasized yesterday that the investigations into
    Kacmaz and request for his removal were not a new issue and should
    not be seen as a reaction to the ruling over the president, saying:
    "This is an investigation that began in 2008. Our [Justice Ministry]
    Inspection Board and General Directorate of Penal Affairs completed
    their work and sent their reports to the relevant chief prosecutor's
    office. From this point on, the process will be taken up by the
    independent judiciary. We'll all be following the developments
    together." The final decision on Kacmaz's status rests with the
    Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK).

    Responding to reports that the Justice Ministry wanted him disbarred,
    Kacmaz told the Anatolia news agency yesterday that his lawyer was
    following the case. "Due to the demands of my occupation, I can't
    say too much," he said. His attorney, Baykal Dogan, also spoke
    with Anatolia yesterday, saying a disciplinary report prepared by
    the Justice Ministry and sent to the HSYK included one request for
    Kacmaz's disbarment, two requests for his reassignment and four
    requests for judicial investigation.

    The Justice Ministry also requested the removal of Eminagaoglu, the
    head of YARSAV. When prosecutor Eminagaoglu, known for his staunch
    opposition to the ongoing investigation into Ergenekon, a criminal
    network charged with plotting to topple the government, had his case
    at the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on the wiretapping of
    criminal suspects rejected, he filed an appeal at Kacmaz's court --
    and won, with Kacmaz overturning the prosecutor's office decision.

    Eminagaoglu's case rests with the Supreme Court of Appeals for now,
    and if it rules for his disbarment, this decision must be approved
    by the HSYK.

    YARSAV, which has around 1,250 members, is known for its controversial
    statements. On various occasions Eminagaoglu has voiced disapproval
    of the detentions and arrests of suspected members of Ergenekon. The
    Justice Ministry had announced in April that there were four
    investigations ongoing into Eminagaoglu, two of which were
    administrative in nature on charges of lacking impartiality and a
    failure to observe professional ethics. The other two were judicial
    investigations that were launched because he made a statement as a
    representative of an NGO in a public institution and because he had
    been making continuous comments about judicial matters, including
    the ongoing Ergenekon investigation.

    Kacmaz's long history of questionable rulings Kacmaz is known for
    a number of controversial decisions, previously overruling the
    dismissal of a case over a campaign to apologize for the killings
    of Anatolian Armenians in 1915. He also overruled a decision by
    the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on the wiretapping of
    criminal suspects. The Justice Ministry announced in August that
    Kacmaz was under investigation as part of the probe into Ergenekon,
    noting that the ministry had decided to inspect rulings issued by
    Kacmaz on Sept. 29, 2008 -- long before his controversial decision
    involving the president.

    In the case concerning President Gul, known popularly as the "lost
    trillion case," the administration of the now-defunct Welfare Party
    (RP) was accused of embezzling TL 1 trillion (equivalent to TL 1
    million today) by forging documents in 1997. Gul, who was the RP's
    deputy chairman for foreign relations at the time, did not face trial
    because he had been re-elected as a deputy. After Gul was elected
    president, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office dismissed the
    charges against Gul, citing the Constitution, under which presidents
    can only stand trial for treason. The Sincan 1st High Criminal Court,
    however, overruled the decision of the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's
    Office, claiming there was a loophole in the Constitution and that
    it was not clear that presidents are immune from prosecution for
    crimes committed before taking office. With this ruling and other,
    low-profile cases, the Sincan court has been noted in the media for
    its poor track record and procedural accuracy ranging from improper
    filing to technical mistakes and overstepped jurisdiction.
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