Insight Turkey
Insight Turkey
Challenging ideas
On Turkish politics and International affairs

Author

Cenap Çakmak

Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Department of International Relations, cenapcakmak@yahoo.com
Cenap Çakmak
Constitutional Court: Its Limits to Shape Turkish Politics
October 1, 2010
This paper argues that the Turkish Constitutional Court acts within a set of limitations which significantly affect its final judgments. The court’s major consideration and motivation in its deliberations over political cases has primarily been to guard the regime and order, as defined and outlined by a fairly pro-state interpretation. To study the Court’s involvement in political cases, this study examines two types of cases, which will help identify the parameters restricting the Court’s ability to proceed with its expected role. In party closure cases, the Court has considered the probable threat posed by the political party under review; accordingly, its rulings have mostly been in line with the prosecutor’s indictment. The same also applies to cases concerning the headscarf ban, a sensitive issue that could be seen as a fault line in Turkey’s social and political life.

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