EU constitutional gondola beckons
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 18, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - The government is preparing to introduce a new constitutional amendment package to make party closures more difficult in both substantive and procedural ways. The proposition, yet to be finalized by the ruling party, draws upon a Venice Commission report released last week that says Turkey’s closure procedures do not meet EU standards
A new constitutional amendment package proposed by the ruling party bears the mark of a recent Venice Commission report and is critical of party closure procedures in Turkey.
The report, adopted last week, notes that while Turkey is in a democratic reform process, its party closure rules fail to meet European standards. It suggests that "a further reform of the rules on party prohibition would be in line with the logic of this reform process."
The ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, plans to finalize an amendment package of 10 to 20 articles to make party closures more difficult and to change the composition of the Constitutional Court, among several other modifications. The AKP wants to make party closures conditional on the use of terror and violence, and on the approval of four-fifths of the Constitutional Court members. The commission report asked Turkey to reduce the number of criteria that allows party closures and emphasizes that the two-thirds majority requirement for party closures through the Constitutional Court is too low.
The AKP is likely to finalize the draft after a series of talks with the opposition following the March 29 local elections.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told reporters Monday that the government would propose four classes of amendments to the opposition.
The right to personal application to the Constitutional Court to challenge the constitutionality of laws, the establishment of an ombudsman post to increase monitoring of state activities, and changes to the political parties and elections laws.
"We will take the Venice Criteria into consideration," Erdoğan said. "The reasons for closing political parties must be limited to the use of violence."
Erdoğan’s AKP dodged closure last year when a closure demand saying the ruling party supplanted secularism in Turkey was turned down by one vote at the Constitutional Court. Another closure case against the Democratic Society Party, or DTP, has been pending in court since November 2007.
Individuals to be granted access to court
If the draft is passed, the Constitutional Court will have eight more members who will be elected to their post by Parliament and court members will stay in office for nine years. The AKP wants to give individuals the right to challenge a law’s conformity to the Constitution before the court. Currently, 110 deputies, the main opposition party and courts have the right to bring a law before the top court.
Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Şahin said the amendments are necessary for progress in European Union accession negotiations. "We will speak with other political parties if the CHP does not support us. We have to reach 367 votes in Parliament," the minister said.
Erdoğan suggested that stating opinions should not be considered a reason to close a party. He also defined citizenship in terms of citizenship to the Turkish Republic. "Everyone must have the right to be proud of being a Turk or a Kurd," Erdoğan said. The report recalls the commission’s earlier statements by the European Court of Human Right that "a political party must be allowed to express opinions that require national constitutional change, as long as this does not harm democracy itself."
"The CHP’s support is not necessary to pass the constitutional amendment package," Erdoğan said. "If the CHP takes the changes to the court, we will act according to the outcome of the case." A comprehensive study for a new constitution, prepared in 2007 by Professor Ergun Özbudun and his team for the AKP, was dropped after intense opposition.
The amendment package will allow greater diversity in Parliament, by allowing political parties to compete for 100 seats in Parliament without passing the 10 percent national election threshold. Supreme Military Council, or YAŞ, decisions that result in the expulsion from the military of military officers found guilty of reactionary activities will be subject to judicial monitoring. The Court of Accounts will have the authority to inspect the military budget, as well as budgets of regulatory bodies such as the Saving Deposit and Insurance Fund, or TMSF, and the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency, or BDDK.
The government admitted it needs the opposition’s help to pass the draft. The MHP dismissed the draft as a "distraction." "We do not see the draft as serious enough to comment on," MHP parliamentary group deputy leader Oktay Vural said yesterday. "Is the government trying to distract the public? That is not an emergency subject. Not worth our attention," he said.
CHP parliamentary group deputy leader Hakkı Süha Okay said unemployment, the economic crisis and corruption scandals are on Turkey’s real agenda. "Nothing to take seriously at this time," Okay said.
VENICE CRITERIA
The Venice Criteria are a set of standards for prohibiting political parties and was prepared in 1999 by the Venice Commission, a Council of Europe advisory body that consists of constitutional law experts.
The criteria put emphasis on the condition of threat or use of violence to achieve a party's objectives as a legitimate reason for party closures.
The Council of Europe is an international organization with 47 members that promotes and enhances human rights.
The report, adopted last week, notes that while Turkey is in a democratic reform process, its party closure rules fail to meet European standards. It suggests that "a further reform of the rules on party prohibition would be in line with the logic of this reform process."
The ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, plans to finalize an amendment package of 10 to 20 articles to make party closures more difficult and to change the composition of the Constitutional Court, among several other modifications. The AKP wants to make party closures conditional on the use of terror and violence, and on the approval of four-fifths of the Constitutional Court members. The commission report asked Turkey to reduce the number of criteria that allows party closures and emphasizes that the two-thirds majority requirement for party closures through the Constitutional Court is too low.
The AKP is likely to finalize the draft after a series of talks with the opposition following the March 29 local elections.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told reporters Monday that the government would propose four classes of amendments to the opposition.
The right to personal application to the Constitutional Court to challenge the constitutionality of laws, the establishment of an ombudsman post to increase monitoring of state activities, and changes to the political parties and elections laws.
"We will take the Venice Criteria into consideration," Erdoğan said. "The reasons for closing political parties must be limited to the use of violence."
Erdoğan’s AKP dodged closure last year when a closure demand saying the ruling party supplanted secularism in Turkey was turned down by one vote at the Constitutional Court. Another closure case against the Democratic Society Party, or DTP, has been pending in court since November 2007.
Individuals to be granted access to court
If the draft is passed, the Constitutional Court will have eight more members who will be elected to their post by Parliament and court members will stay in office for nine years. The AKP wants to give individuals the right to challenge a law’s conformity to the Constitution before the court. Currently, 110 deputies, the main opposition party and courts have the right to bring a law before the top court.
Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Şahin said the amendments are necessary for progress in European Union accession negotiations. "We will speak with other political parties if the CHP does not support us. We have to reach 367 votes in Parliament," the minister said.
Erdoğan suggested that stating opinions should not be considered a reason to close a party. He also defined citizenship in terms of citizenship to the Turkish Republic. "Everyone must have the right to be proud of being a Turk or a Kurd," Erdoğan said. The report recalls the commission’s earlier statements by the European Court of Human Right that "a political party must be allowed to express opinions that require national constitutional change, as long as this does not harm democracy itself."
"The CHP’s support is not necessary to pass the constitutional amendment package," Erdoğan said. "If the CHP takes the changes to the court, we will act according to the outcome of the case." A comprehensive study for a new constitution, prepared in 2007 by Professor Ergun Özbudun and his team for the AKP, was dropped after intense opposition.
The amendment package will allow greater diversity in Parliament, by allowing political parties to compete for 100 seats in Parliament without passing the 10 percent national election threshold. Supreme Military Council, or YAŞ, decisions that result in the expulsion from the military of military officers found guilty of reactionary activities will be subject to judicial monitoring. The Court of Accounts will have the authority to inspect the military budget, as well as budgets of regulatory bodies such as the Saving Deposit and Insurance Fund, or TMSF, and the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency, or BDDK.
The government admitted it needs the opposition’s help to pass the draft. The MHP dismissed the draft as a "distraction." "We do not see the draft as serious enough to comment on," MHP parliamentary group deputy leader Oktay Vural said yesterday. "Is the government trying to distract the public? That is not an emergency subject. Not worth our attention," he said.
CHP parliamentary group deputy leader Hakkı Süha Okay said unemployment, the economic crisis and corruption scandals are on Turkey’s real agenda. "Nothing to take seriously at this time," Okay said.
VENICE CRITERIA
The Venice Criteria are a set of standards for prohibiting political parties and was prepared in 1999 by the Venice Commission, a Council of Europe advisory body that consists of constitutional law experts.
The criteria put emphasis on the condition of threat or use of violence to achieve a party's objectives as a legitimate reason for party closures.
The Council of Europe is an international organization with 47 members that promotes and enhances human rights.