On 8 November 2023 a
constitutional crisis
In political science, a constitutional crisis is a problem or conflict in the function of a government that the constitution, political constitution or other fundamental governing law is perceived to be unable to resolve. There are several variat ...
unfolded in
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
between the
Court of Cassation
A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case; they only interpret the relevant law. In this, they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In ...
and the
Constitutional Court
A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...
when the Court of Cassation intervened to overturn a ruling by the Constitutional Court regarding the release of an imprisoned member of the
Turkish Parliament,
Can Atalay.
The Constitutional Court had previously ordered the release of Atalay, asserting that his imprisonment infringed upon his rights to security, liberty, and the right to be elected. However the Court of Cassation annulled this decision, instructing lower courts not to abide by it.
Furthermore, the appeals court called for a criminal investigation into the Constitutional Court members, alleging that their ruling constituted a violation of
the constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed.
When these princ ...
.
The opposition parties and the
Union of Turkish Bar Associations called this action a "judicial coup attempt". Additionally, certain executives within the ruling
Justice and Development Party criticised the Court of Cassation's ruling.
The new leader of the main opposition
Republican People's Party
The Republican People's Party (RPP; , CHP ) is a Kemalism, Kemalist and Social democracy, social democratic political party in Turkey. It is the oldest List of political parties in Turkey, political party in Turkey, founded by Mustafa Kemal ...
,
Özgür Özel
Özgür Özel () (born 21 September 1974) is a Turkish pharmacist and politician who has served as Leader of the Republican People's Party, leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP) since 2023. He had previously shared the parliamentary group ...
, called the ruling "a coup attempt against the constitutional order." He further emphasized the significance of the situation, stating, "I called our parliamentary group to an extraordinary closed meeting on the latest developments in the judiciary. The developments cannot be underestimated or ignored. Beyond the crime of violating the Constitution, this is an attempt to oppose the constitutional order. It should be suppressed immediately."
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turkish constitutional crisis, 2023
2023 controversies
Constitutional crisis
In political science, a constitutional crisis is a problem or conflict in the function of a government that the constitution, political constitution or other fundamental governing law is perceived to be unable to resolve. There are several variat ...
Constitutional crises