Правовой анализ Заключения Венецианской комиссии на проект изменений, вносимых в Конституцию Турецкой Республики

Abstract

The following article analyzes the Venice Commission Opinion on the Turkey’s constitutional reform that is deemed to be one of the most important political events of the recent times. On 16 April 2017 many Turkish citizens living in Turkey as well as numerous Turkish Diaspora took part in the referendum to determine the country’s development path for at least a decade ahead. The results of the referendum in a literal sense have split the Turkish society in two parts: 51% said “Yes” to the proposed amendments, while 49% voted against them. The Venice Commission of the Council of Europe could not overlook this crucial constitutional reform introduced in the state of emergency, since one of the Commission’s areas of focus is provision of world-class expert opinions on draft amendments to the Constitutions of the Member States of the Venice Commission. On its 110th Plenary session the Commission adopted Opinion on the amendments to the Constitution adopted by the Grand National Assembly on 21 January 2017 and to be submitted to a National Referendum on 16 April 2017 (CDL-AD (2017)005-e), that gives an independent expert assessment of the recent changes taking place in Turkey. The Venice Commission’s conclusions as the result of the deep legal analysis of the text of the amendments may appeal to a wide range of readers, including lawyers and those interested in significant political events, abundant in the modern politics.