Striking Claims regarding the Constitutional Court


Currently, one of the most crucial issues in Turkey is the eradication of illegal sub-groups that have infiltrated the framework of the country's judicial system, groups that have been able to gain various state positions and act within an inner hierarchy. Each day new data is obtained or a new witness comes forward revealing how and where this illegal group is organized. And today, I would like to highlight remarks that came from a witness of considerable repute. As you may remember, a judicial clerk from the Constitutional Court claimed that the court and its president Haşim Kılıç backed this illegal structure in court, and was thus discharged from his duty. This clerk was Emir Kaya, who has an undergraduate degree from Harvard and is now doing his Ph.D. at the University of London. I had the chance to talk to him in a live broadcast on A Haber news channel last Wednesday. He made some striking claims."Some three out of 17 members of the Constitutional Court are a part of this illegal structure, four are under the control of the structure and the other three or four tend to change their positions according to power relations. And the rest is from the period of Sezer. Even though I have totally different opinions from them, they are not dependent on anything and act consistently in themselves. But I observed that they remain passive and do not say a word. However, they shoulder a major responsibility. I expect them to react," Kaya said."Against what?" I asked."This structure rules everything in the court," said Kaya. "Forty out of the 70 judicial clerks and all the four chief judicial clerks are members of it. For instance, the secretary general… He has deep roots within the organization. They are totally ruling the court president. For example, they perform the interviews, and the president approves their opinion. They join all the internship programs abroad and they suspend or immediately complete the important files as they wish. The files are classified as those important or not important to them. Those regarded as important are examined by their own members. They act completely according to their inner mechanisms for individual litigations. They immediately set apart the cases if names such as Aziz Yıldırım come up."When I told him that they also charged him in court, Kaya said "Yes, I studied in one of their private courses in Trabzon. I had a higher rank at the University Entrance Exam and won a car from them. Then I went abroad. After that I wrote an article. I currently study the sociology of law; and the article I wrote caught Haşim Kılıç's attention." They probably presumed Kaya was a member of the organization since he went to their private course.In conclusion, Kaya speaks openly by referring to the persons. Of course I cannot write this over here lest it be a matter of dispute but the source is evident. Because he says everything tangibly and notes which cases are suspended and in which way and for what reason, it is imperative to investigate them immediately. Also, his remarks underline once again how critical the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) election, which will be held in October, is.