President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov signed a law on introducing additions and changes to the country’s Law “On the Court”. The text of the bill was published today in the official Turkmen press.
According to the new bill, the age limit for the powers of judges in Turkmenistan was established: for judges of the Supreme Court of Turkmenistan - seventy years, for judges of other courts - sixty-five years. However, it is noted that “upon the proposal of the Chairman of the Supreme Court of Turkmenistan, the age limit for holding the position of a judge may be extended by the President of Turkmenistan for five years.”
At the same time, the term of office of judges was established: “the chairman of the court and the deputy chairman of the court are appointed to the position for a period of five years. The same person cannot be appointed in the same court to the position of chairman of the court or deputy chairman of the court for more than two consecutive terms.”
Also, the requirements for judges of the Arbitration and Supreme Courts of Turkmenistan have been increased. Now, candidates with at least three years of experience as a judge, instead of two previously, and at least five years for a Supreme Court judge, can apply for the position of judge of the Arbitration Court.
The grounds for termination of the powers of a judge now also include “failure to pass the qualification exam twice in a row”, bringing disciplinary action at least twice during the year for a serious violation of the law when considering court cases due to inattention and negligence, if they led to serious consequences and a gross violation of the code of ethics for judges.
In addition, the amounts of additional payments to the official salary for work experience in the judiciary of judges, judges in administrative and enforcement proceedings and court employees were precisely recorded, depending on their official salary and qualifications in the following order: from 5 to 10 years - 15%; from 10 to 15 years - 25%; from 15 to 20 years - 30%; from 20 to 25 years - 35%; over 25 years - 40%.
