‘We Don’t Approve the Attempts to Change Election System of Bar Associations’

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All 80 bar associations of Turkey affiliated with the Union of Turkish Bar Association (TBB) and TBB Chair Metin Feyzioğlu have released a joint statement in response to President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's hints that the election systems of professional organizations might be changed by a law amendment.

"We do not approve the attempts to amend the provisions of the Attorneys' Act pertaining to bar associations and their election system," the bar associations have said in their joint statement and called on the authorities "to stop and withdraw these attempts."

The joint statement of the bars has come shortly after President and AKP Chair Erdoğan hinted at such changes in his address to the public following the investigations launched against Ankara and Diyarbakır Bar Associations over their statements condemning the Religious Affairs President Ali Erbaş's targeting remarks about the LGBTI+s and HIV positive people.

"There are several legal regulations expecting to be concluded at the Parliament," he previously said and added, "One of them is about setting the structures of bars, medical chambers and the like. We need to restart working on it and bring it to the Parliament as soon as possible."

In response to the above remarks of Erdoğan, 80 bars and the TBB have released the following joint statement in disapproval:

'Prioritize problems of attorneys'

"Our country has been struggling against the coronavirus outbreak as well as economic, social and political problems for months now.

"In particular, the problems faced by our fellow colleagues have reached an unbearable extent. The priority of our country and our profession is to make efforts to solve these problems.

"For this reason, we do not approve the attempts to amend the provisions of the Attorneys' Act pertaining to the bar associations and their election system and request that these attempts be stopped and withdrawn and we return to solve the real issues on our country's agenda.

'A commission of experts must be set up'

"In the future, when the Attorneys' Act is to be changed in such a way to meet the expectations of our attorneys and bar associations, bar associations and the TBB must be the main addressees.

"A commission must be established with the participation of 80 bars, experts and academics by the TBB and the draft to be prepared by this commission must be shared with the public and the related authorities. This must be the right, fair and legal course of action." (EMK/SD)