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| Turkish Court Overturns Part of Law on Judiciary, Loosening Government’s Grip | Turkish Court Overturns Part of Law on Judiciary, Loosening Government’s Grip |
| (5 months later) | |
| ISTANBUL — Turkey’s highest court on Friday overturned the provision of a new law that gave the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan greater control over the judiciary, a law that critics said harmed the country’s separation of powers and was part of a broader effort on the part of Mr. Erdogan to push back against a corruption investigation. | |
| In ruling against the law, which passed Parliament in February after a bloody brawl on the floor of the assembly, the Constitutional Court asserted itself once again as a buffer between Mr. Erdogan and what his opponents have cast as an authoritarian turn. The ruling suggests, at least for now, that the doctrine of judicial review remains alive in Turkey. Last week, the court overturned the government’s ban on Twitter. While Mr. Erdogan criticized the ruling, he nevertheless abided by it, and the government switched the social media site back on for millions of Internet users in Turkey. | In ruling against the law, which passed Parliament in February after a bloody brawl on the floor of the assembly, the Constitutional Court asserted itself once again as a buffer between Mr. Erdogan and what his opponents have cast as an authoritarian turn. The ruling suggests, at least for now, that the doctrine of judicial review remains alive in Turkey. Last week, the court overturned the government’s ban on Twitter. While Mr. Erdogan criticized the ruling, he nevertheless abided by it, and the government switched the social media site back on for millions of Internet users in Turkey. |
| “The Constitutional Court proves that there is still a way out of autocracy,” said Metin Feyzioglu, the chairman of the Turkish bar associations. | “The Constitutional Court proves that there is still a way out of autocracy,” said Metin Feyzioglu, the chairman of the Turkish bar associations. |
| With Mr. Erdogan fighting off corruption allegations through a series of measures to gain more control over the Turkish state, the country’s politics have become starkly polarized. As the country’s recent municipal elections demonstrated — and what last summer’s angry street protests showed — is that the country is split roughly in half between those who support Mr. Erdogan unconditionally and those who want him gone after more than a decade in power. Even so, those elections helped him solidify a plurality of electoral support. | With Mr. Erdogan fighting off corruption allegations through a series of measures to gain more control over the Turkish state, the country’s politics have become starkly polarized. As the country’s recent municipal elections demonstrated — and what last summer’s angry street protests showed — is that the country is split roughly in half between those who support Mr. Erdogan unconditionally and those who want him gone after more than a decade in power. Even so, those elections helped him solidify a plurality of electoral support. |
| As Mr. Erdogan has moved to take more control over the media, the police and courts, the result has been that many Turks have lost confidence in these institutions to carry out their duties independent of government pressure. | As Mr. Erdogan has moved to take more control over the media, the police and courts, the result has been that many Turks have lost confidence in these institutions to carry out their duties independent of government pressure. |
| “I think the society, being inside such a pressure cooker, that the pressure gets so high from time to time that you need a security valve,” Mr. Feyzioglu said. “And the Constitutional Court acts like one.” | “I think the society, being inside such a pressure cooker, that the pressure gets so high from time to time that you need a security valve,” Mr. Feyzioglu said. “And the Constitutional Court acts like one.” |
| Even as the ruling was greeted as a win for democracy, it also underscored the lack of other checks on Mr. Erdogan’s growing power. For instance, the Constitutional Court — akin to the United States Supreme Court — appears to be the only legal authority that the government recognizes as legitimate. Lower courts, for example, have ruled against the government’s block on YouTube, but the government has ignored those decisions. | Even as the ruling was greeted as a win for democracy, it also underscored the lack of other checks on Mr. Erdogan’s growing power. For instance, the Constitutional Court — akin to the United States Supreme Court — appears to be the only legal authority that the government recognizes as legitimate. Lower courts, for example, have ruled against the government’s block on YouTube, but the government has ignored those decisions. |
| The judicial law was regarded as Mr. Erdogan’s most brazen power grab, legal experts say, because it gave control of the council that appoints prosecutors and judges in Turkey to the government. This was the most important — and controversial — element of the bill, which the court overturned. It left in place another provision that gives the government control over the justice academy, a state institution that trains judges and prosecutors. | The judicial law was regarded as Mr. Erdogan’s most brazen power grab, legal experts say, because it gave control of the council that appoints prosecutors and judges in Turkey to the government. This was the most important — and controversial — element of the bill, which the court overturned. It left in place another provision that gives the government control over the justice academy, a state institution that trains judges and prosecutors. |
| But there have been other power grabs, too, in the wake of the graft inquiry: a new law to censor the Internet; a proposed bill to expand the powers and immunities of Turkey’s spy agency; and clampdowns on the news media and on social media sites, where numerous leaked recordings, apparently from the files of the corruption investigation, have been posted. | But there have been other power grabs, too, in the wake of the graft inquiry: a new law to censor the Internet; a proposed bill to expand the powers and immunities of Turkey’s spy agency; and clampdowns on the news media and on social media sites, where numerous leaked recordings, apparently from the files of the corruption investigation, have been posted. |
| But it was the judicial bill that empowered Mr. Erdogan in his fight against the corruption case, as he has sought to purge hundreds of prosecutors and judges who he believes are against him. Mr. Erdogan has cast the inquiry as the work of followers of the Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, and whose adherents are said to be in top positions within the police and judiciary. The two men were once allies, but are now engaged in a bitter power struggle. | But it was the judicial bill that empowered Mr. Erdogan in his fight against the corruption case, as he has sought to purge hundreds of prosecutors and judges who he believes are against him. Mr. Erdogan has cast the inquiry as the work of followers of the Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, and whose adherents are said to be in top positions within the police and judiciary. The two men were once allies, but are now engaged in a bitter power struggle. |
| Like they did recently when the court overturned the ban on Twitter, government officials criticized Friday’s ruling, but said they would adhere to it. | Like they did recently when the court overturned the ban on Twitter, government officials criticized Friday’s ruling, but said they would adhere to it. |
| “The regulation we have prepared is a regulation that conforms with the Constitution,” Bekir Bozdag, the justice minister, told reporters in Ankara, the Turkish capital. “The Constitutional Court’s cancellation decision has not changed my opinion. But of course we will abide by the court’s decision.” | “The regulation we have prepared is a regulation that conforms with the Constitution,” Bekir Bozdag, the justice minister, told reporters in Ankara, the Turkish capital. “The Constitutional Court’s cancellation decision has not changed my opinion. But of course we will abide by the court’s decision.” |
| Amid the continuing crisis the Turkish economy, booming in recent years, has suffered as foreign investors worried about instability have pulled money from the country. One opposition politician, in hailing the ruling as a win for democracy, also placed it in the context of the economy. | Amid the continuing crisis the Turkish economy, booming in recent years, has suffered as foreign investors worried about instability have pulled money from the country. One opposition politician, in hailing the ruling as a win for democracy, also placed it in the context of the economy. |
| “Either you will be a state governed by the rule of law and capital will come with confidence,” said Faik Oztrak, a member of the opposition Republican People’s Party. “Or, you will completely ignore the rule of law and you will have to find capital from abroad with very high interest rates. All this has a cost.” | “Either you will be a state governed by the rule of law and capital will come with confidence,” said Faik Oztrak, a member of the opposition Republican People’s Party. “Or, you will completely ignore the rule of law and you will have to find capital from abroad with very high interest rates. All this has a cost.” |