In the process aiming to establish a basis for cooperation by addressing the structures and functioning of judicial councils of the Turkic States and the problems encountered by these councils, the first meeting was hosted by the Council of Judges and Prosecutors with the cooperation of the Turkic Council in Istanbul on 22-23 December 2015 under the title “Judicial Councils of Turkic-Speaking Countries”. Senior officials from the judicial councils of Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan attended this meeting. At the meeting, a consensus was reached on holding regular judicial council meetings and discussing reforms, ethical codes and current developments.  

Subsequently, within the framework of the Organization of Turkic States, “2nd Meeting of the Presidents of the Councils of Judges of the Member and Observer States” was once again hosted by our Council in Istanbul on 21-25 May 2024 with the participation of the Chairman of the Judicial-Legal Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the President of the High Judicial Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the President of the Judicial Council of the Kyrgyz Republic, the President of the Supreme Council of Judges of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the President of the National Judicial Council of Hungary, and the President of the Supreme Court of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.  

The Final Declaration that was prepared in line with the topics discussed and the outcomes achieved during the meeting was signed on 23 May 2024. In this Declaration, it was decided to prepare a statute that would institutionalise the cooperation and to carry out this process through a sub-working group. 

Accordingly, the draft Statute was prepared and presented to the member countries at the technical meeting hosted by our Council in Ankara on 16-17 December 2024. 

Following this, within the framework of “3rd Meeting of the Presidents of the Judicial Councils of the Organization of Turkic States” that was held on 18–19 June 2025 in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, the Statute determining the legal basis and institutional structure of the Network was signed by the representatives of member countries. Thereby, the Network of the Judicial Councils of the Organization of Turkic States aiming to strengthen mutual cooperation, institutionalise regular contacts and encourage experience sharing within the scope of joint projects, was officially established.  

This Network aspires to strengthen the judicial independence of member countries, enhance the security of tenure of judges and consolidate trust in the judiciary. It operates in many areas such as legislation sharing, knowledge and experience transfer, training programs, mutual working visits and joint projects. The Network, whose highest decision-making body is the Meeting of Presidents and which carries out its activities through a Working Group, holds its meetings in member countries on a rotational basis. Activities are carried out on the basis of consensus and observer countries may also participate in the meetings and express their opinions. 

Statute of the Network of Judicial Councils of the Organization of Turkic States (English)