Covert criteria are applied to candidates during appointments to top positions in the judiciary, which are generally related to jurists' membership in professional unions or associations, genders and hometowns rather than professional qualifications.

Candidates who are not members of the Judges and Prosecutors Association (YARSAV), who do not come from the same town or family as jurists in top posts and who do not work in Ankara have almost no chance of being appointed to a prestigious position in the high judiciary, according to the latest cover story of weekly news magazine Aksiyon.  Coming from the same religious sect is also said to be a significant criterion, according to the weekly. But Aksiyon did not focus on that issue, as it did not find the claims to be objective. Aksiyon provided a striking list showing the percentage of top jurists who were appointed in accordance with the criteria mentioned above. More than 40 percent of Supreme Court of Appeals members are members of YARSAV. A total of 39 percent of judges at the same court come from the same city as other prominent Supreme Court of Appeals members.More than 76 percent of Supreme Court of Appeals judges once worked in Ankara. While only 8.4 percent of all judges and prosecutors are member to YARSAV, this figure rises to 42 percent when it is the case for Supreme Court of Appeals members.Some legal experts argue that YARSAV has no basis in law and it should disband. They believe that YARSAV has the status of an association, but the unionizing of judges and prosecutors in Turkey would only be possible with a special law which has not yet been passed. In 2006, the Justice Ministry prepared a bill giving judges and prosecutors the right to set up professional organizations, but it was never adopted.YARSAV is frequently the center of harsh criticism due to its alleged attempts to interfere in ongoing investigations and trials.Twenty-five percent of judges at the Council of State have been selected from YARSAV members since the establishment of the association in 2006.According to Aksiyon, judges and prosecutors whose wives wear the headscarf or perform daily Islamic prayers or went on a pilgrimage, however, have almost no chance of advancing to a higher rank in the judiciary. They are generally seen as a “threat” to the secular identity of the country.PM Erdoğan: Reform package to end cronyism in judiciaryPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was in Ankara on Sunday asking voters to support a constitutional amendment package in the Sept. 12 referendum. The prime minister said two articles included in the package seek to make changes to the structures of the Constitutional Court and the HSYK. “Through the changes, appointments of judges and prosecutors via phone calls will end. Appointments of judges and prosecutors upon orders from Alevi leaders will end, too,” he said. He was seemingly referring to former Justice Minister Seyfi Oktay, who was detained in early June in a wave of operations against Ergenekon, a clandestine criminal organization accused of working to overthrow the government. Oktay's hand in controversial appointments was exposed when his leaked wiretaps revealed that he placed pressure on high judiciary members to appoint certain candidates to the top courts, including the Supreme Court of Appeals and the Council of State.Oktay's telephone conversations were tapped by Ergenekon prosecutors acting with a court order. In the wiretapped phone conversations, Oktay is heard pressuring top jurists to appoint members of his close circle of friends to higher positions in the judiciary and to clear many individuals of charges in ongoing probes or trials. The conversations also show that Oktay played an important role in the acquittal of many suspects in at least 25 criminal cases, including drug smuggling, murder and membership in illegal organizations.“Do you know what they [opponents of the constitutional amendment package] are disturbed by? Judges and prosecutors in all cities, in Erzurum or Edirne for example, will cast votes when appointed HSYK members. That's why they are disturbed,” Erdoğan added. The HSYK is staunchly opposed to the package as it aims to make changes to the structure of the HSYK. An overhaul of the HSYK's structure will increase the number of the board's members from seven to 22. Four members of the board will be appointed by the president while three will be selected by the Supreme Court of Appeals. Two members will be named by the Council of State and one will be selected by the Justice Academy of Turkey. The remaining members will be elected by judges and prosecutors. The restructuring is intended to prevent the HSYK from acting according to ideological impulses. Coming from same family, townTwo of the most bizarre criteria in the covert appointment to top posts in the judiciary are coming from the same family and the same town as members of the high judiciary. The “same town” criterion is sometimes generalized, and it is applied to candidates coming from the same geographical region or area. For example, coming from Trabzon, Rize, Artvin, Giresun or Ordu is usually referred to as coming from the Black Sea region, and members of the high judiciary who come from this region support candidates who are also from the Black Sea region.Thirty of the 66 judges and prosecutors appointed to higher positions in the past 10 years come from the same town as members of the high judiciary. Nineteen of them, on the other hand, were appointed because of the family they come from.Aksiyon said coming from the same family or town is so important for members of the high judiciary that they even shelve the criterion of sharing the same world or ideological view. They even forget about past personal problems when working to appoint the judges and prosecutors who come from their own family or town.Judges at top courts also work to appoint their spouses to top posts in the judiciary, according to the news magazine. There are five couples who are either working or once worked at the Council of State.“Women's solidarity” is also a strong criterion in the appointment of judges and prosecutors. Female jurists exert their utmost efforts to have their female friends advance to higher ranks in the judiciary. Some female jurists are members of a “women's club.” They continue their membership in the club even after they retire. They eat meals and spend their spare time at these clubs. They develop personal ties there, and help each other during judicial appointments.According to honorary member of the Supreme Court of Appeals Cevdet İlhan Günay, professional qualities are ignored during the appointment of judges and prosecutors to higher positions. “It would never be possible to get appointed if you lack the support of certain groups in the judiciary. The candidate who is appointed has to comply with what the helping group orders. And it creates a caste system,” he noted.Günay also said a practicing Muslim has no chance of being appointed. “I know a former Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors [HSYK] member. He went on a pilgrimage during his term in office. The board makes an evaluation before deciding who to appoint to the Supreme Court of Appeals. When the board discussed the candidacy of that friend, HSYK members said he prays, fasts and went on a pilgrimage. And he did not get appointed,” he recalled. 31 August 2010, TuesdayBÜLENT KORUCU/MEHMET ÖZDEMIR  İSTANBUL