Constitutional Court partly nullifies paragraph in state of emergency law

Photo: AA/File

Click to read the article in Turkish

The Constitutional Court has concluded that a paragraph in the state of emergency law objected to by the main opposition party did not violate the Constitution.

The Republican People's Party (CHP) demanded the invalidation of the paragraph 3 of article 37 of law no. 6755, which was enacted on November 8, 2016.

The paragraph mentions "terrorist groups and structures, organizations or groups determined by the National Security Council to act against national security."

The CHP said the paragraph was against the rule of law and it legitimized every kind of unlawful and arbitrary acts, the CHP alleged.

Examining the CHP's application, the Constitutional Court unanimously concluded that the National Security Council (MGK) cannot decide whether a group is acting against national security and the expression "by the National Security Council" in the paragraph should be nullified.

By a majority vote, the top court also ruled for the nullification of the words "legal" and "financial" in the paragraph. However, it concluded, the remaining parts of the paragraph were in compliance with the Constitution.

"Taking into account that the MGK does not have the authority to give executive decisions, it is clear that the MGK decisions that are not adopted by the President with a separate decision ... cannot be legally enforced," said the top court. (HA/VK)