Loading ...Turkish plan to restructure courts stokes opposition alarm
Turkey’s government wants to remove hundreds of top judges and give President Tayyip Erdogan more say on appointments in a major overhaul it says will speed up courts, but opponents fear the move will undermine judicial independence.
The government says the judicial review will allow it to weed out the followers of a U.S.-based Muslim cleric accused by Erdogan of attempting to topple him, and help streamline high courts bogged down by a backlog of cases.Critics say it is an attempt by Erdogan to cement control over the courts, which they say he already uses to intimidate opponents. Prosecutors have opened around 2,000 cases against people for insulting Erdogan since he became president in 2014, including journalists, cartoonists and teenagers.
Under the draft law being debated in parliament, all 711 judges at two of the highest courts – the Council of State, which hears cases lodged by citizens against the government, and the Supreme Court of Appeals – will be removed. Some are expected to be reappointed, but it is unclear how many.
cont. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-judiciary-idUSKCN0Z31HH