AK Party officials have been working on a comprehensive reform package, which is expected to include changes to some highly criticized articles of the Constitution. In addition to changes that would focus on areas such as the judiciary and articles related to political parties, the government also plans to amend Article 125 of the Constitution, which states that YAŞ decisions are not subject to judicial review.
Article 125 reads, “Recourse to judicial review shall be available against all actions and acts of administration.” However, the third paragraph of the same article denies judicial review to “the acts of the president of the republic on his or her own competence and the decisions rendered by YAŞ.”
YAŞ decisions were open to judicial review before the 1982 Constitution was put into place. The article in question is a product of the Sept. 12, 1980 coup d’état, whose leaders drafted the current Constitution.
Every year, Turkey witnesses fierce debates over the YAŞ meetings, during which the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and the government decide on promotions and retirements within the military. The YAŞ meetings, which take place twice a year, are also an occasion on which officers suspected of engaging in anti-secular activities are expelled from the TSK.
Officers expelled from the military do not have the chance to appeal to a judicial body or ask for a review of dismissal decisions. For the last few years, analysts have voiced a strong demand for the establishment of a body to monitor YAŞ decisions.
With the expected amendment to the relevant article, officers expelled from the TSK will be able to appeal the ruling in courts.
