Freedom of judge's association; Turkisch experience

The issue of judicial independence in Turkey has become a question of heated debate, especially in recent years. One of the paths to ensure it is; to train lawyers who are well educated, mentally stable, and committed to ethic values. Besides, the presence of professional associations that provide lawyers to exercise a right to association and freedom of speech in compliance with international conventions is another necessity to assure judicial independence. Here at this thesis study, the presence of judges' associations, a contradictive topic as much as the independence of the judiciary in Turkey, and its accordance with law is discussed. Also, politicians argue that judges shall not be founders of associations. In the thesis, the idea and judgments regarding the topic are examined in order to clarify the subject. As a part of the research, both international and local regulations were viewed; a poll, in addition to recent ones had been carried out among lawyers, was conducted and also minute books of some associations was investigated. Furthermore, problems of judges associations that arise from laws and executive power, lack of democratic culture and misuse of membership are analyzed. In the final part of thesis study, a short summary of the history of Turkish justice system and also the judicial organization of judges in the last decade was given to provide a source to researchers about an unfamiliar field.