PodcastTurkey's top court rules on just 11 of 91 appeals filed by main opposition
Turkey's Constitutional Court has ruled on only 11 appeals submitted by the main opposition CHP that were passed by the ruling AKP since 2018. The remaining 80 appeals are currently pending review. The CHP has said that the judiciary lost its independence and became a force of the political government.
Nergis Demirkaya / DUVAR
Turkey's Constitutional Court has only ruled on 11 appeals filed by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) against laws and decrees that were passed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) within the two years since the country was transformed into an executive presidential system.
Six of the appeals were rejected while the other five resulted in cancellations or partial cancellations of the laws or regulations in question. The remaining 80 appeals are currently pending review.
The CHP said that the number of cancellations, higher than in previous periods despite the low number of overall decisions, reflects the government's attempt to push through unconstitutional legislation.
“Our party's most important argument against the recent constitutional violations is that these presidential decrees exceeded the authority of the Presidency. The final decision of the Constitutional Court strengthens our thesis,” CHP deputy Özgür Özel said.
Critics of the AKP and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have argued that the president and the ruling party have taken over the judiciary, which they say has no independence whatsoever and awaits decisions from above. Still, in recent years, the Constitutional Court has ruled against the government in certain cases.
"One cannot expect our party to remain silent about these unconstitutional violations," Özel said, adding that he expected the top court to rule that other recent presidential decrees have also exceeded the authority of the office.