Turkish parliament passes law to restructure judiciary

The Turkish parliament has approved legislation to restructure high courts and remove hundreds of top judges in what is regarded as part of government's efforts to weed out the followers of Fethullah Gulen, a US-based Muslim cleric and opponent of the Turkish president.

Under the new law, all 711 judges at Ankara-based Council of State -- the highest administrative court in Turkey that deals with cases filed by citizens against the government -- and the Supreme Court of Appeals. Some of the judges are expected to be reappointed later, but their number remains unclear.

There will also be new appointments by the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors, which serves as the disciplinary body of the Turkish legal system.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will accordingly find the opportunity to appoint a quarter of the judges at the Council of State, and place close allies from his inner circle in one of the country’s most significant legal bodies.

Critics argue that the judicial review is an attempt by Erdogan to remove opposing judges and tighten his grip over the judiciary.

The opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) says it would launch an appeal at the Constitutional Court, even though the chances of success look deem.

“This will consolidate all power into one man’s hand,” Metin Feyzioglu, the head of the Turkish Bars Association (TBB), which is an organization uniting over 60,000 lawyers, said in a statement, describing the judicial changes as dangerous.

But Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek has said the aim is to clear bottlenecks in Turkey’s legal system.

“Justice right now is slow and clearly that is an issue for the business community. We have this system where millions of files end up at the Supreme Court of Appeals and the Council of State, roughly two million files, which means justice certainly needs to be sped up,” he said.

Last month, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said he would purge the influence of the Gulen movement, which Ankara considers a terrorist organization.

Turkish authorities say Gulen is using his network of followers in the judiciary and other institutions to try to oust the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

There have been large-scale purges in the judiciary ever since dozens of government officials and prominent businessmen close to Erdogan, the then prime minister, were arrested in an inquiry on graft charges in December 2013. 

The scandal, which turned into a very serious challenge to Erdogan’s rule, also led to a cabinet reshuffle. 

Erdogan denounced the corruption scandal and a string of leaks in the media, saying they were engineered by Gulen's supporters to undermine his government. 

Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the US state of Pennsylvania since 1999, strongly denies the charges. 

On December 19, 2014, an Istanbul court issued an arrest warrant for the US-based cleric. 

Prosecutors have opened around 2,000 cases against people, including journalists, cartoonists and teenagers, for insulting Erdogan since he became president in 2014.

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