ANKARA
Turkey’s Constitutional Court is ‘behaving like a political actor’ by rescinding part of a recently passed judicial reform that gives more powers to the justice minister, Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay has said.
Atalay called the Court’s ruling “carving out a political role for itself.”
Another Deputy Prime Minister, Emrullah Isler, said the ruling and its timing were “meaningful”.
The Court’s ruling is binding and cannot be appealed.
The law, passed in February, was supposed to transfer some of the powers of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors, Turkey’s highest legal body known as the HSYK, to its chairman, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag.
"The decision has harmed the Constitutional Court,” Atalay said. “If the judiciary tries to assume political roles just as the armed forces and the media once did, then that would bring back debates over tutelage.”
The word ‘tutelage’ is widely used as a reference to the coups d’état in the last half a decade of Turkey's politics. They are known to have crippled democracy and held back economic development.
Isler said there was “no hesitation” on the part of the Turkish government about its implementation.
“The decision's timing and speedy announcement is meaningful. We can evaluate more clearly after the detailed ruling is announced. The decision of the Constitutional Court is binding. There is no hesitation on this matter.”
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