Turkey lawmakers elect judicial board under new constitution News
Turkey lawmakers elect judicial board under new constitution

The Turkish Parliament [official website] elected seven new members [vote counts;Bursada Bugun report, in Turkish] to the country’s 13-member Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) in an overnight vote Wednesday under changes made to the constitution in a referendum last month. The HSK has broad judicial power [Reuters report] in Turkey, overseeing “the appointment, promotion, transfer, disciplining and dismissal of judges and prosecutors.” The new members are all candidates of President Tayyip Erdogan’s [official website] ruling AK Party or its ally, the Nationalist Movement Party [official websites, in Turkish]. Critics of the move, including members of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party and the secularist Republican People’s Party [official websites, in Turkish], say the changes to the constitution which allow the appointments are “illegitimate,” and give too much power to Erdogan and the AK Party. Supporters of Erdogan say the expansion of his power [JURIST report], as well as the expulsion of 4,238 judges and prosecutors who were politically aligned with US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, is necessary to combat Kurdish and Islamist militants.

Since the failed coup in Turkey in July, where Turkish military forces tried to overthrow the government, the Turkish government has taken several controversial steps to strengthen its power. Last month, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ said [JURIST report] the Turkish Constitutional Court [official website] would reject any opposition challenge to the referendum that expanded Erdogan’s powers, and the European Court of Human Rights had no jurisdiction on the matter. In March, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights published a report [JURIST report] describing a plethora of human rights violations committed by the Turkish government between July 2015 and December 2016. Also in March around 330 individuals were put on trial [JURIST report] for alleged involvement in an attempted coup. In November Turkey significantly restricted the activities of NGOs like human rights organizations and children’s groups and arrested opposition party leaders [JURIST report] alleging they were connected to terror organizations. In October Human Rights Watch warned [JURIST report] that the emergency decrees put in place after the failed coup, had resulted in serious human rights violations.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Congress passed legislation establishing post-WWII national security structure

On July 25, 1947, the National Security Act of 1947 was passed, establishing a linkage between the military and national security, and setting up the National Security Council (NSC), the CIA, the Department of Defense, and several other new agencies, including the National Military Establishment with three separate departments (the Army, the Navy and the new US Air Force), and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Learn more about the National Security Act of 1947.

Brunswick Manifesto proclaimed

On July 25, 1792, the Brunswick Manifesto was proclaimed by Charles William Ferdinand, the Duke of Brunswick during the French Revolutionary Wars. As leader of the forces allied against France, Ferdinand promised retribution against the citizens of Paris if the French Royal Family was harmed. Instead, the Manifesto further inflamed anti-royal sentiment in Paris.