The 11th Conference of the Balkan and Euro-Mediterranean Network of Council for the Judiciary, of which our Council is a board member, was held in Rome on 13-14 June 2016 with the participation of the member countries to the Network.

In the Conference, the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors of Türkiye was represented by Mr. Mehmet YILMAZ, the Acting President and Head of the Second Chamber of the HCJP, Mr. Bilgin BAŞARAN, the Secretary General of the HCJP, and Mr. Zeki UYSAL, Rapporteur Judge at the Bureau of Foreign Relations and Projects of the HCJP.

The two main topics of the Conference were “Internal independence of the Judges and Prosecutors as a factor of increasing efficiency in the Judiciary” and “The role of media in the independence of the Judiciary”. The members elaborated these topics and adopted some recommendations (see Annex-1: Recommendations).

In addition, Mr. Gjin Gjoni, member of the High Council of Justice of Albania, was re-elected as President of the Network for a term of one year. It was also decided to change the mandate of the president from one year to two years starting from 2017, and the Charter was modified accordingly (see Annex-2: Charter of the Network). Also, the official logo and the Annual Working Plan of 2016-2017 of the BEMNCJ were approved and information was given on the official website of the Network (www.bemncj.org).

Moreover, it was decided for the 12th Conference to take place on 29-30 June and 1 July 2017 in Sofia, Bulgaria, with the topics of “1. Impartiality and the Code of Ethics” and “2. The role of the Councils of the Judiciary in the fight against terrorism and the security of the judges”.

The decisions were shared with the public in a press conference that took place following the Conference, with the participation of member states.

Annex-1: Recommendations
Annex-2: Charter of the Network