During his address, he expressed the desire to introduce a new civilian and liberal constitution in Turkey. Erdoğan emphasized the importance of such a constitution, not only for the judiciary but also for other branches of the country.

Drawing attention to the Council of State’s critical role in the resolution of the citizen-state disputes in accordance with the law and justice, Erdoğan described the constitutional amendment made in 2017 as one of the most important reforms of government in the history of Türkiye.

Stressing that the establishment of the Presidential System of Government consolidated the principle of the separation of powers in the country, Erdoğan said: “We have raised the standards of our democracy by setting clearer boundaries between the legislative, executive and judicial branches. With this constitutional amendment, we also added the phrase of ‘impartiality’ to the principle of ‘independence’. We have thus taken an important step to save the judiciary from the former disputes it used to end up in.”

“Adopting a new and civilian constitution will be of important service to the judiciary”

The relations between the judiciary and other branches, particularly the executive, are a matter of debate anywhere in the world, the President stressed, adding that such debates had become particularly destructive for Türkiye’s institutions at times of tutelage and coups.

Erdoğan continued his remarks as follows: “For instance, the shadow of FETO that fell over our judiciary in the past deeply saddened all of us. Thank Allah, we cleared all the state institutions, including the judiciary, of this gang of treason. We stand witness to the firm stance the judiciary displays in the fight our country wages against all the terrorist organizations and illegal formations regardless of their appearances and names.”

Erdoğan further stressed: “We believe that adopting a new and civilian constitution will be of important service not only to the judiciary but also to other branches in our country. We want to introduce a civilian and liberal constitution prepared by the hands of the national will. If we can achieve this, the last remaining clouds over our democracy will scatter away, as well.” (ILKHA)