Il Consiglio superiore dei giudici e dei procuratori nell’ordinamento turco, fra alleanza repubblicana e derive illiberali

The Turkish High Council of Judges and Prosecutors, between the Republican Alliance and the recent illiberal turn

Abstract

This article analyses the role of the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) in the Turkish constitutional order. The HSYK was established as early as 1961, and its evolution over the six following decades has largely reflected the complex constitutional history of the country. In 1961, the establishment of the HSYK was part of an attempt to strengthen the position of the judiciary as part of the so-called Republican Alliance. In the Erdoğan years, a moderately reformist attitude, which had been positively welcomed by the Venice Commission, was later replaced by a strong illiberal turn that has dramatically affected the position of the HSYK. The suspension of the HSYK from its membership of the European Network of Judicial Councils in 2016 testifies to the magnitude of these transformations.