Türkiye’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) on Thursday submitted a bill to Parliament that will amend the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) for better public security, a more effective fight against crime and end the perception of impunity.
The “judicial package” includes 30 articles outlining five goals, 45 targets and 264 activities, and amends in total nine different laws.
“The package aims to strengthen public satisfaction with the judiciary,” AK Party Group Chair Abdullah Güler said after the bill was presented to lawmakers.
“We aim to improve the current situation, ensure the convicts adhere to disciplinary rules, prevent crime, and facilitate the safety of lives and property in traffic with these regulations,” Güler said.
The package highlights good behavior, conditional release and rehabilitation cases.
A convict will spend one-tenth of their sentence in a penal institution until their conditional release, and repeat offenders will be given the opportunity to benefit from conditional release.
“In cases where the sentence is less than two years for social crimes, we want them to spend one-tenth of their sentence in a penal institution, not less than five days for crimes under two years,” Güler explained, noting that the regulation concerns nearly 20,000 prisoners in total.
The bill particularly aims to increase prison terms for crimes of deliberate injury and reckless injury. The minimum term for deliberate injury and reckless injury will be six and four months in prison, respectively.
It also seeks to address unruly behavior in traffic, a problem plaguing especially big cities where motorists often engage in brawls when one overtakes another and endangering the lives of each other.
The bill will redefine the TCK’s Article 223 as “prevention and hijacking of transportation vehicles,” a more fitting description for brawls where angry motorists or passengers are often shot on video, blocking the vehicles they attacked. Those involved in blocking vehicles will face prison terms of up to three years under the proposed bill.
The document for reform strategy has been prepared with the vision for a predictable justice system that will not be delayed and is based on the supremacy of the law, the Justice Ministry said in a statement in January. The reform outlines principles that include strengthening the corporate structure and the human resources capacity, restructuring processes, increasing the effectiveness of the penal justice system and the legal and administrative trial processes, and making access to justice easier.
Türkiye unveiled the first of its legal reform strategy documents in 2009, followed by a second in 2015 and a third in 2019.
