Contribution originale en anglais
In May 2010, the Turkish Grand National Assembly proposed
constitutional amendments which have further been adopted, and
thus included in the constitution , by a referendum held on 12
September 2010.
By virtue of the amendments:
the right to the protection of personal data is introduced in
Turkish law. Such amendment may well encourage the ratification
by Turkey of the European Convention for the Protection of
Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data
and the introduction of a law on personal data.
restrictions for Turkish citizens of the right of free movement
to a foreign country can only be imposed by a court order
resulting from criminal proceedings. Thus, the amendment
excludes the use of an administrative order for such
restrictions.
decisions of the Higher Military Board to dismiss military
officers from the Army will be subject to judicial control. This
Board mainly deals with matters pertaining to military officers
such as promotions, dismissals from office and disciplinary
sanctions.
minor disciplinary decisions, with regard to civil servants,
will be subject to judicial control.
civil persons will no longer be tried by military courts in
peace time.
Furthermore, the amendments include remarkable changes in the
structure and functions of the Turkish Constitutional Court,
such as:
increasing the number of senior judges in the Court and imposing
a time-limit on the judges’ mandate.
creating a chamber within the Court to address individual
complaints about violations of any provision in the Convention
for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The
chamber will be the last judicial authority capable of granting
remedy for such allegations. Following these judicial
proceedings, a case may at last be filed before the European
Court of Human Rights.
introducing the right for the Court to revise previous criminal
decisions regarding high ranked officials.
introducing the power to dissolve a political party following a
vote with a two-third majority of the participating judges,
rather than a simple majority.
Finally, the amendments also reshape the current Higher Board
for Judges and Prosecutors which functions include recruitment,
promotion, dismissal from office, disciplinary sanctions, etc.,
as follows:
the Board will now consist of 22 full-time members and 12
substitute members, following an election by judges and
prosecutors. Furthermore, members of the judiciary, such as
senior judges and prosecutors, will be nominated for membership
of the Board. In the past, judges and prosecutors were excluded
from such appointment process. Moreover, the Board would consist
of senior judges from the Court of Cassation, the Council of
State, the Ministry of Justice and its Undersecretary.
the Board will be solely responsible for inspecting the
judiciary and its operation. The Ministry of Justice will not
take part, unlike in the past, in the performance of this duty.
Unlike in the past, the decisions taken by the Board, with
respect to dismissal of judges and prosecutors from the
Judiciary, will be subject to judicial control.
In order to turn these constitutional amendments into practice,
Turkish Parliament will have to introduce new laws and revise
existing ones. It is understood that such legislative process
will need some time.
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