Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek made a statement regarding the Child Driven to Crime (SSÇ) regulation, which was presented to the parliament by the AK Party Group today and whose details were shared with the public by AK Party Group Deputy Chairman Leyla Şahin Usta.
In his statement touching on the aims and objectives of the new bill, Minister Gürlek stated that the bill in question contains important regulations that protect children, strengthen deterrence and protect public conscience.
Minister of Justice Gürlek noted that in the proposed law, the sentence reductions to be applied to children in the 12-15 and 15-18 age groups have been rearranged, and that the judge is given wider discretion in serious crimes such as intentional murder and aggravated injury due to its consequences, taking into account the nature of the act.
Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek stated that in order to more strongly reflect the child-oriented understanding of law and the presumption of innocence, it is envisaged to use the expression "Child in Judicial Process" instead of the expression "Child Driven to Crime" in the legislation, and the aim is to protect the child, prevent crime, prevent criminal organizations from exploiting children, and strengthen the responsibilities of families; He stated that his aim is to establish an effective justice system that respects public conscience and victims' rights in the face of serious crimes.
“Preventing our children from facing judicial processes, protecting them from all kinds of abuse and threats, and responding to the justice expectations of our families who are victims of crime are among the most basic responsibilities of our state.
With this understanding, the Bill on Amendments to the Child Protection Law and Some Laws, the preparations of which we contributed to and which was submitted to the Turkish Grand National Assembly by our AK Party Group; It contains important regulations that protect children, strengthen deterrence and protect public conscience.
With the proposal, the penalty reductions to be applied to children in the 12-15 and 15-18 age groups are rearranged; In serious crimes such as intentional murder and aggravated wounding due to its consequences, the judge is given wider discretion, taking into account the nature of the act.
Penalties for violations of obligations arising from family law are being increased; Sanctions against people who do not fulfill their responsibilities regarding the care, supervision and protection of the child are strengthened.
In order to protect our children, new guidance measures are being introduced for digital risks, addictions, environmental awareness, book and library habits and social services. While the effectiveness of social investigation reports is increased, inter-institutional coordination in protective and supportive measures is also strengthened.
In addition, in order to more strongly reflect the child-oriented understanding of law and the presumption of innocence, it is envisaged to use the expression "child in the judicial process" instead of the phrase "child dragged into crime" in our legislation.
Our aim; protects children, prevents crime, prevents criminal organizations from exploiting children, strengthens the responsibility of families; To establish an effective justice system that respects public conscience and victims' rights in the face of serious crimes.
I would like to thank all our colleagues, especially the GNAT Research Commission on Children Driven to Crime, who contributed to the preparation of the proposal, our AK Party Group, our relevant institutions, academics and experts who brought the proposal to the Parliament agenda.
Under the leadership of our President Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan); "We will continue to resolutely implement our reforms that jointly protect the best interests of our children, the peace and security of our society, and the expectation of justice of our victimized families."