Although
reconciliation is a phenomenon that has recently settled in our lives in the
legal sense, it appears as a concept that is not far from Turkish social life.
For this reason, first of all, the concept of "conciliation" and the
concept of "reconciliation", along with its place in the Turkish
legal system, should also be emphasized, as well as its place and importance in
our culture.
Compromise, as a
lexical meaning, is defined in TDK as "to agree, mutually agree and agree,
to stay on an agreement by removing the difference of opinion or interest
between them with mutual concessions".
In the legal sense,
Conciliation is used in the Criminal Procedure Code: "While expressing the
agreement reached at the end of the communication process, conciliation is used
to express the process itself in which the parties participate."
Compromise when
both definitions are considered; It can be defined as finding a middle way,
compensating the damage, and eliminating the conflict by making mutual
concessions when necessary. When these definitions are analyzed; It is seen
that reconciliation has a communication and cultural aspect besides its legal
dimension, and even it is one of the sine qua non.
The primary element
in the success of reconciliation is communication. In this context, only
individuals who know how to talk to each other, who have empathy skills and who
are also good listeners can make reconciliation. As a matter of fact, Napoleon
said in one of his words:
“People who can
talk about anything can get through anything.” says.
At this point,
clues emerge about what qualifications and equipment the mediator, who manages
the mediation process, should have besides his legal knowledge.
The second element
in the success of the reconciliation is the culture of the society in question.
Moreover, it is the place of consensus in culture, its position and its
effectiveness in solving problems. We live together with individuals from every
thought, belief and culture in social life. There is no doubt that as a
requirement of social life, sometimes our problems/problems may arise. At the
stage of solving these problems, one must act in a culture of consensus in his
social relations. At this point, reconciliation is one of the ways of using the
mind and benefiting from the minds of others, where the win/win principle is
dominant instead of lose/lose.
In the legal
literature, conciliation is encountered in the English Anglo-Saxon legal system
and in the example of Japan from the Far East countries. In particular, the
Japanese legal system is largely carried out within the conciliation process.
In the Turkish legal system, the institution of conciliation; especially the
workload in the judiciary, the lack of judicial personnel, the inability to
conclude the ongoing cases for many years, the cost of the litigation process
to the parties, the state, etc. Therefore, it was seen as an alternative
solution method and put into practice. In a very short time, very positive
results have started to be obtained throughout the country, especially with
many successful examples locally known as the "Izmir model". Despite
the fact that the conciliation process has a very short history in our legal
system, it can be said that this yeast has taken hold both in our legal system
and in the Turkish society.
In this context, it
would be useful to dwell on the roots of the process of reconciliation and
reconciliation in the structure of Turkish society. Compromise; Although it is
a phenomenon that has just entered our literature in terms of legal regulation,
it is a solution method that we are not alien to, which is in the traditions,
culture and even genetics of Turkish society. Even in our recent past, where
urbanization has not been experienced intensively, both among individuals and
in the solution of social problems, where everyone knows each other in the
settlement where they live, and neighborhood relations are experienced, the
solution of problems was solved by respected personalities from the
neighborhood who were loved and respected by everyone, whose word was listened
to, and who were consulted when starting a business. . The solution of these
people, who were a kind of voluntary mediator, was accepted by all parties, and
disputes were settled amicably. Who knows, maybe the biggest damage of
urbanization to our social culture has been the damage to this social fabric
and individualization.
The first examples
of reconciliation in terms of Turkish culture appear with the character
"Dede-korkut" in Dede-korkut stories. This epic story character,
which is an important work of Turkish social life and culture, Dede-korkut; The
projections, perhaps the first examples, of reconciling the role of reconciling
the parties, solving problems amicably, reconciling and giving advice in
Turkish traditions and customs can be counted.
Again, when the
Turkish family structure is examined, aren't we all examples in our own family
where the elders of the family come into play, especially in solving the
problems in the family, and the problems are eliminated by bringing the parties
together and getting together with the parties in the family at the point of
solving the problems? In this context, in rural life where social ties are
stronger than in cities, especially elders with religious identity or people
who are believed to be a kind of wise/confident human being can come into play
in solving the problems between the parties. This situation, which we encounter
especially in rural areas/villages, is seen in the example of resolving the
dispute between the parties through the mediation of the prominent and
respected people of the village.
Sometimes, special
days such as religious holidays, which are important for our culture, can be an
important place in the settlement of problems in the reconciliation process. On
these special days, the parties come together and the problems between them can
be resolved peacefully under the leadership of the community leaders.
As a result,
although the concept of reconciliation/conciliation is a new phenomenon in our
legal literature, it is not a very distant method to Turkish society at the
point of solving problems. It can even be said that it is an application that
has practice and practice in society. Perhaps this reality underlies its great
success despite its short history in the Turkish legal syste
mediator Serkan HORUZ
serkanhoruz.blogspot.com
