[JURIST] Turkish parliamentary speaker Koksal Toptan [personal website, in Turkish] called Saturday for changes to the structure of Turkey's parliament and constitution [text] in the aftermath of a decision [JURIST report] earlier this week by the Constitutional Court of Turkey [official website, in Turkish] striking down recent amendments to the constitution designed to ease a ban on headscarves [JURIST report] in universities. Toptan told a news conference in Ankara that the court had exploited its authority by voiding the amendments, which were passed [JURIST report] by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in February by a vote of 403-107, and that constitutional reform and restoration of the upper house of parliament would be appropriate in the circumstances. He said the court had tried "to seize the power of parliament", and that restoring the senate would take pressure off of the court. The senate was abolished in the 1982 constitution as an unnecessary clog on the legislative process. AFP has more. AP has additional coverage.

The Constitutional Court struck down the amendments because it found that they violated the country's secular principles. Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party [party website] (AKP) says it proposed the amendments to ensure equal access to higher education, but the pro-secular opposition Republican People's Party [party website, in Turkish] had appealed [JURIST report] to the Constitutional Court, insisting the ban on headscarves was necessary to protect the separation of religion and state.

[JURIST] The CEO of Exxon Mobil [corporate website], Rex Tillerson [corporate profile], said Saturday that Russia needs to make changes to its judicial system in order to attract foreign investment. Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) [official website], he said: "[Russia] must improve the functioning of its judicial system. There is no confidence in the rule of law in Russia today." Exxon operates large Esso and Mobil [corporate websites, in Russian] affiliates in the country. Reuters has more.

New Russian President Dmitry Medvedev [official profile] has made judicial reform a priority of his administration. In a speech in May he promised to take steps to tackle corruption and intimidation [JURIST report] in the Russian judicial system, calling for reforms to better train and support judges and to preserve the rule of law.

[JURIST] The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) [official website] has begun a formal antitrust investigation of US computer chip manufacturer Intel Corporation [corporate website; JURIST news archive]. Intel's chip manufacturing rival, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) [corporate website] has claimed for years [AMD advocacy website] that Intel has been engaged in uncompetitive business practices, but this is the first formal action taken by the FTC. The probe constitutes a reversal of course for the Commission, which last fall was reported to have rejected the option of an investigation [JURIST report]. The New York Times has more. The San Francisco Chronicle has additional coverage.

In a statement [text] issued Friday when the probe was publicly disclosed, Intel said it has and will continue to provide information to the FTC and that it has not acted illegally:

Since 2006 Intel has been working closely with the FTC on an informal inquiry into competition in the microprocessor market and has provided the commission staff with a considerable amount of information and thousands of documents.

Consistent with its standard practice Intel will work cooperatively with the FTC staff to comply with the subpoena and continue providing information. The company believes its business practices are well within U.S. law. The evidence that this industry is fiercely competitive and working is compelling.