Turkey’s justice system is not functioning properly. It is not necessary to be a defendant or a relative of one to reach this conclusion

Turkey’s justice system is not functioning properly. It is not necessary to be a defendant or a relative of one to reach this conclusion. Turkey’s justice system has never functioned properly; neither in the past nor today. The difference is that, today, Turkey is making pretentions to establish an Istanbul International Finance Center. A country that has a fake justice system cannot create an international financial center. This is what the verdict in the Sledgehammer trials made me think. If the government is serious about the Istanbul International Finance Center protect, it should prove that it is with a comprehensive judicial reform project. Is that enough? No. A project on a new constitution is also necessary. Without a new constitution, Istanbul cannot become an international financial center. Let me tell you why.

From an external perspective, Turkey seems to be determined to establish an international financial center in Istanbul. But, what do we know about this project? We know about the location: nearby Ataşehir. We know that a huge, fake Mimar Sinan Mosque has been built to face the center. It is desired that each and every financial institution, including the Central Bank of Turkey, be based at the center. And what else do we know? Nothing. When establishing an international financial center, the rest of the world designs the institutional infrastructure in great detail. Turkey, on the other hand, just identifies the block and parcel number on which the center will be built. The keyword is the domination of rules in the rest of the world and the block and parcel number in Turkey. And here is my favorite remark on the project, made by prime minister Erdoğan: “We will build the largest center in size.” You must be kidding!

Let’s start with emphasizing the grim reality: the size and the parcel number of the land on which it will be built is the most trivial issue about an international financial center. They can be dealt with anyway. The surface area of the land is not significant, either. These centers grow upwards, anyway. What is important is to have a creditworthy legal system. So, here is the challenge for Turkey: how to build credibility of the judicial and legal system in just a couple of years. This is the main issue that will prove how serious the government is. So, is there any plan in place? No, there isn’t.

Some of you might ask, “Okay, our justice system may be fake, but what about that of Dubai or Qatar? Do they have genuine justice systems?” No, they don’t, either. But they have managed to come up with a remedy to their deficiencies and have established a separate legal system. In Dubai, financial lawsuits are seen by the independent courts of the Dubai International Financial Center. There are nine judges working in the court; three from the United Arab Emirates, and the rest from the UK, Singapore, or Malaysia. Here, the critical point is that the court and the judges are credible. In an international center, both law and lawyers should be international. This court handles not only cases of arbitration. The court has jurisdiction as any other court. The legal framework is based on British law. The Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Center also functions within a similar framework. All of the nine judges but one are European, headed by an English lord. What guarantees the rule of law in a financial center is the presence of a foreign legal system and foreign lawyers.

And now, Turkey. There are two options: Turkey will either design a genuine and imported justice system for the customers of the financial center while maintaining the fake one for its citizens, or initiate a comprehensive reform of the judiciary and the legal system. I would prefer the second option over the first. But I don’t see any sign of an attempt at  it. If the second option fails, what should Turkey expect? Soon enough, Turkey should expect an annual growth rate decrease from the usual 4.5 percent to 3 percent, which means becoming mired in the middle income trap. This is the path upon which Turkey has set already. This is not good or bad; this is the reality.

Whatever option it chooses, Turkey’s path has to cross that of a new constitution. A new constitution will be the indicator of the government’s determination about the Istanbul International Finance Center. If Turkey chooses the first option, the new constitution has to authorize the functioning of multiple legal systems within the country and allow foreign lawyers to work in Turkey. If the second option is chosen, the new constitution has to for the first time in republican history guarantee judicial independence and impartiality. The latest referendum removed the “judicial independence” make-up Turkey used to wear. The picture this revealed was a bad one.

If you ask me, not using a single legal system throughout the country would be a pity for a republican government. The clients of the financial center have the right to a credible legal system, but citizens of the Republic of Turkey have not, eh?

These are the thoughts the verdict in the Sledgehammer trials has raised in my mind.

This commentary was published in Radikal daily on 25.09.2012