Three years of work in improving civil enforcement offices in Turkey

The twinning project ‘Improving the capacity of civil enforcement offices’ comes to an end after three years of collaboration between the Ministries of Justice of Spain and Turkey. This Twinning, managed by FIIAPP with European funding, aimed to improve efficiency and trust in the judiciary and strengthen the institutional capacity of the Turkish enforcement offices. 

During its closing ceremony, the project’s achievements were presented, which included the design of fifteen new civil enforcement offices in Adana, Antalya, Istanbul and Kayseri provinces, the preparation of manuals, organisation of human resources, and tools for synchronisation between Turkish judicial institutions. More than 400 people have been trained in seminars given by Spanish, Swedish and French specialists.   

Both the Spanish and Turkish institutions involved in this project agreed on its success and that its objectives had been achieved. Alim Polat, Turkey’s director of Executive Affairs, explained that the aim now is to continue implementing this new model in Turkey, even after the project has been completed. Spanish institutions have already offered to participate in a third phase of the project aimed at digitally transforming Turkish judicial institutions. 

The project leader in Turkey highlighted the collaborative role of all Turkish institutions, which was fundamental to the success of the project. For their part, the Secretary General of the Spanish Ministry of Justice and the head of the Consular Section of the Spanish Embassy underlined the capacity for mutual effort and cooperation in carrying out joint work to implement a new organisational model for enforcement offices. 

At the close of the event, the head of the section for Civil Society, Fundamental Rights, Judiciary and Home Affairs at the EU Delegation in Turkey highlighted the significant progress Turkey has made recently and the ‘crucial’ role that the project has played in accompanying the country in its commitment to European regulatory alignment and meeting the requirements for EU membership.