Top court drops old case to shut the AKP
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Daily News with wires
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Temmuz 11, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - The Constitutional Court, headed by Hasan Gerçeker, decided Thursday to dismiss the closure case that was filed against the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, seven years ago on the grounds of its failure to respond to court warnings.
Earlier this year, the court had annulled a legal article that enabled the Chief Prosecutor’s Office to file lawsuits to deprive political parties of state funding. Under the article, the office was able to open court cases aimed at taking away treasury financing if the parties do not respond to court warnings.
The court delegation debated the case under the new arrangement, and decided to dismiss it.
Sabih Kanadoğlu, then the chief prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals, filed the case at the Constitutional Court in 2002. In the indictment, Kanadoğlu asked the court to ban the AKP over its failure to correct some irregularities in a given period of time, despite warnings by the Constitutional Court. As a precaution, Kanadoğlu also asked the top court to keep Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the leader of the AKP, from using his authorities. The court dismissed the closure cases against the Turkish Communist Party, or TKP, and the Turkish Socialist Workers’ Party, or TSİP, for the same reason. The AKP has been working to enact legislation that will make it much tougher to shut down political parties. The Democratic Society Party, or DTP, is also currently facing a closure case at the Constitutional Court.
The court delegation debated the case under the new arrangement, and decided to dismiss it.
Sabih Kanadoğlu, then the chief prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals, filed the case at the Constitutional Court in 2002. In the indictment, Kanadoğlu asked the court to ban the AKP over its failure to correct some irregularities in a given period of time, despite warnings by the Constitutional Court. As a precaution, Kanadoğlu also asked the top court to keep Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the leader of the AKP, from using his authorities. The court dismissed the closure cases against the Turkish Communist Party, or TKP, and the Turkish Socialist Workers’ Party, or TSİP, for the same reason. The AKP has been working to enact legislation that will make it much tougher to shut down political parties. The Democratic Society Party, or DTP, is also currently facing a closure case at the Constitutional Court.