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Çiçek meets with legal experts for new constitution
Speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting, Çiçek said Monday marks a significant beginning for a new constitution. Noting that there is wide expectation among the public for a new constitution, Çiçek said making the constitution is an obligation for Turkey.
Çiçek said a reconciliation commission will conduct several studies during the constitution-making process in Parliament, adding that the contributions of academics will also be welcomed when a draft document emerges. The parliament speaker also asked political parties to discuss every proposal without accusing each other and to find common ground for addressing the country’s problems in the new document.
Turkey’s long-time expectations for a new civilian constitution have become stronger than ever since the June 12 parliamentary elections. All parties elected in Parliament vowed to prepare a new constitution to replace the existing one, which was drafted under martial law after the Sept. 12, 1980 military coup and has been greatly criticized for failing to respond to today’s needs for broader rights and freedoms.
In the opening speech of the meeting, Çiçek said that although Turkey’s current Constitution has been amended for 17 times, it has failed to lose its image as the “coup-era” Constitution. He said all the problems in the country, justly or not, are attributed to the Constitution because of this image, noting that Turkey needs a new constitution to rid itself of this psychological problem and have a constitution adopted by the society.
The latest and most comprehensive amendments to the current Constitution were made through the public’s approval of a 26-article reform package in a referendum last year. The reform package received 58 percent support from the people.
Çiçek said there is a strong expectation for the preparation of a constitution based on social consensus, noting that both the civil society and political parties underscore the need for a new constitution and sometimes come up with their own drafts.
The parliament speaker acknowledged that the process of preparing a new constitution will undoubtedly be challenging, just as it is all around the world.
“It is very natural that we will experience problems during the preparation of a new constitution, from issues dealing with the content of the text to the method pursued, and we will experience these processes,” he said, adding that no difficulty has dissuaded advanced, democratic nations from preparing constitutions in compliance with the needs of the era and guarantee freedoms.
“We should not be dissuaded by difficulties, either,” he added.
Recalling the importance of academics’ contributions to preparations, Çiçek said: “What we expect from academics is their active and constructive contribution to the new constitution. We have full confidence that they will do so. I offer my thanks to you in advance for your contribution.”
Çiçek, who was elected in June, earlier vowed to do his utmost to broker a new constitution with a compromise between the political parties represented in Parliament. The parliament speaker has recently authorized the launch of a new website to function as a forum for public contributions to the process of drafting a new constitution.
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