16 December 2022
Back to the Future
After over nine months of preparatory meetings, the Turkish opposition coalition consisting of six political parties have announced their constitutional amendment proposal. While it has been plausibly argued in this blog that constitutional restoration in the case of Turkey can be conducted without necessarily amending the Constitution, the main cause unifying the opposition coalition at the moment is a comprehensive proposal for constitutional amendment that allegedly aims for transitioning towards a ‘strengthened’ parliamentary system. In this blogpost, I will evaluate several key provisions of the opposition’s proposal and explain its likely path towards adoption in the aftermath of the upcoming general elections. Continue reading >>
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19 October 2020
Diminishing Authority
The Turkish Constitutional Court ruled on 17 September 2020 that the right to be elected and right to personal liberty of Enis Berberoğlu, an opposition MP, have been violated. As a remedy to this violation, the TCC ordered the Istanbul 14th Criminal Court of First Instance to start a re-trial in order to eliminate the consequences of these violations. Yet, the Court of First Instance did not implement this decision. The unfolding of these events creates political and legal controversy and harms the – already vulnerable – credibility and legitimacy of the TCC. Continue reading >>
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