The Justice Ministry sent a bill yesterday to the Prime Ministry that envisages amendments to 132 articles of 16 acts within adjustment laws with constitutional change.
With the approval of the April 16 referendum on constitutional amendments, it was announced previously that Parliament will go into overdrive for the next sixth months to work on adjustment laws, and parliamentary bylaws in particular, which some have long criticized for stalling parliamentary processes and often bringing the adoption of new laws to a halt.
The first adjustment laws include amendments on the Military Penal Code, the Law on Judges and Public Prosecutors, the Law on the Establishment and Duties of the Constitutional Court, the Dispute Court Act, the Council of State Law and the Supreme Court Act.
The draft is expected to be sent to Parliament after the Cabinet discusses it.
One change would be that testimonies of suspected officers and non-commissioned officers will be taken by public prosecutors instead of military courts.
The arrangement for the selection of the members of the Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK), which is now 13 members on two boards, will be accorded with the changes.
With the amendment made to the Constitutional Court Law, vice presidents will be included among those who can be tried by the Supreme Tribunal Court. In the chapter on the duties of the Constitutional Court, the following change will be made: "The President of the Republic of Turkey, the President of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the Deputy President of the Republic, the Ministers, the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court of Appeals, the President and members of the Council of State, the President and the Commanders of the Land, Sea and Air Forces can be tried for crimes related to their duties."
The ability to file lawsuits with the Constitutional Court for the cancellation of the laws will also be changed.
Thus, the president, the two political party groups with the highest number of parliamentarians in Parliament and at least 1 percent of the total number of members of Parliament have the right to file an annulment suit.
A referendum was held in Turkey on April 16, which approved constitutional changes with 51 percent of the vote in favor of the amendments.
