“I have learned that the rapporteur will complete his work on the appeal against the law on military and civilian courts in a few days,” Kılıç told reporters on Wednesday. Parliament passed a law in early July that included a change to Article 5918 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), paving the way for military personnel to be tried in civilian courts and preventing the prosecution of civilians in military courts.
The law had come as a revolution in civilian-military relations, analysts argued, as such a move limits the power of the military over civilians. The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) had appealed that the top court abrogate the law.
Kılıç also said he expected rapporteurs to finish their work on the DTP closure case by the end of October. “Rapporteurs are still working on the case. They are planning to complete their work by the end of this month,” he said. According to the top court president the report will be distributed to court members after its completion, and the Constitutional Court may start deliberating on the closure case in November.
A prosecutor filed charges against the DTP in 2007 demanding the permanent closure of the party. He claimed that DTP members' actions and statements run counter to the independence of the state and the indivisible integrity of its territory and nation and that the party has become a focal point for these acts.
The indictment against the DTP calls for 221 of its members, including eight deputies, to be banned from membership in a political party for five years.
Kılıç also denied claims that Rapporteur Ali Rıza Aydın was forced into retirement because he was a Judges and Prosecutors Association (YARSAV) member. “I have been presiding over the Constitutional Court for two years. I served as the court's vice chairman for eight years in the past. If I had the intention of doing such a thing [sending the rapporteur to retirement for being a YARSAV member], I would have done it much earlier,” he stated.
