News Scan

News Scan, 11th Jan – Turkey’s top judicial board confronts gov’t on move for more control

"Share this post on social media, spread the news"

Turkey’s top judicial board confronts gov’t on move for more control

On the day a parliamentary commission started debating a draft law to curb its powers to the advantage of the government, the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) issued a strongly-worded statement describing the move as “unconstitutional.”

“With the legal amendment, the board will report to the Justice Ministry. This amendment is against the Constitution and the formation of an independent body,” the HSYK’s acting head, Ahmet Hamsici, said in a written statement on Jan. 10.

Hamsici issued the 66-page long statement as an individual, as the government had already annulled the HSYK’s authority to issue statements without the consent of the justice minister. Despite the strong reactions against the proposed amendments by the HSYK and opposition parties, Parliament’s Justice Commission had already begun deliberations on the bill by late afternoon on Jan. 10.

Just hours before the panel’s meeting, Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek expressed his own concerns about the bill’s compatibility with the Constitution. “The first thing that the Justice Commission should look at is the proposed law’s compatibility with the Constitution,” Çiçek told reporters.

HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

No need for concern over graft probe, Turkey’s new EU minister tells Brussels

Turkish EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has called on the 28-nation bloc not to make “unilateral and impatient statements via media” and urged calm over the events following a major graft probe.

“No one should have any concern about Turkey’s commitment to the principle of rule of law and obligations stemming from the EU accession process,” Çavuşoğlu wrote on his official Twitter account.

The EU has voiced its concern over the government response to recent graft probes that involve high-profile names and relatives of ruling party members.

Çavuşuğlu took over as EU Minister precisely from one of those names, Egemen Bağış, following the large Cabinet reshuffle on Dec. 25. The outspoken Bağış was one of the four ministers implicated in the graft probe with claims of bribery.

HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

HSYK opposes gov’t proposal, say planned changes violate Constitution

Fifteen members of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) have voiced strong objection to a proposal by the governing party to restructure the board, saying the proposal violates the Constitution.

The HSYK members also argued that the proposal contradicts a constitutional principle of the independence and impartiality of the judiciary and seeks to subordinate the board to the justice minister.

Earlier this week, the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) issued a proposal to restructure the HSYK which was slammed by critics on the grounds that the bill will give the government a tighter grip on the judiciary.

The HSYK is the body responsible for appointments in the judiciary. It has 27 members.

The legislation allows the undersecretary of the justice minister to be elected as chairman of the HSYK. The bill also mandates that the board will no longer have the authority to pass decrees and circulars. Instead, the justice minister will be entitled to pass decrees and circulars on behalf of the HSYK. Furthermore, the board will be stripped of its authority to decide to launch investigations of HSYK members. This authority is again passed to the justice minister.

TODAYS ZAMAN

Police detain 35 in anti-bribery operation at Mersin customs

Thirty-five people, including 10 customs personnel, were detained on Friday for alleged involvement in bribery in an operation carried out by police units from the Mersin Customs Security and Anti-smuggling Directorate on Friday. The Ministry of Customs and Trade said in a written statement that the operation was conducted after the ministry and the Central Mediterranean Customs and Trade Zone Directorate received several letters tipping them off that a number of customs personnel and shipping companies were involved in bribery.

The Mersin Prosecutor’s Office has ruled that the case remain confidential, meaning that the media will not be able to report details of the case. Six months of surveillance have uncovered that six customs inspection officials and four customs officials were spotted receiving bribes. The surveillance was said to have collected evidence showing 25 others from a customs consultancy company and a transportation company giving bribes.

As part of the investigation, the police conducted searches of many offices and houses. The interrogation will continue over the weekend and the suspects are expected to be sent to court on Monday.

TODAYS ZAMAN

As Assad lingers, Turkey focuses on ISIS

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has rarely been correct in his predictions about Syria. Just about every plan and expectation he had for this country has gone awry in ways he never factored in. Some of his assessments about the current situation appear equally questionable. For example, he is saying now that Turkey’s new bane in northern Syria, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), is in league with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

In a rare admission that things are not going according to his expectations, Davutoglu now acknowledges, albeit indirectly, that the activities of radical Islamists in Syria are making Assad the lesser evil for the international community. This stands in stark contrast with his predictions less than two years ago that Assad had only months, if not weeks, to go.

For Davutoglu, the situation in Syria was simply about a ruthless dictator killing his own people. He never considered the possibility that this crisis had the makings of a civil war, not unlike the one in the former Yugoslavia. Davutoglu’s assumptions were based on the notion that in time, the Syrian regime would fall just like those in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya and be replaced with an elected government.

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/01/davutoglu-says-isis-assad-partners.html#ixzz2q7mcc1t9

HEALTH MUSEUM VIDEO PIC 2