CHP, TBB to not attend judicial year ceremony at Presidency

Oya Armutçu - ANKARA

The Union of Turkish Bar Associations (TBB) and the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) have decided not to attend the judicial year opening day ceremony on Sept. 1 because it will be held at the presidential palace in Ankara under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

It will be first time that the ceremony has been held at the Presidency and Erdoğan will deliver a speech at the gathering.

The TBB board gathered on Aug. 26 and decided not to participate in the ceremony at the Presidency, while bars in Ankara, Istanbul and the Aegean city of İzmir have also taken the same decision.

“Our decision is derived from our sensitivity about judicial independence and impartiality,” the TBB said in a statement. The TBB had delivered a message to the Constitutional Court that holding the ceremony at the Presidency would harm the principle of separation of powers and wear out independence and impartiality of the judiciary both in national and international public opinion, read the statement.

The problem was not resolved despite constructive dialogue with the Constitutional Court, the TBB stated.

CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu stated the party disapproved of holding the judicial court year opening ceremony at the Presidency, in an interview with the CNN Türk on Aug. 27, and criticized the decision on the grounds that it would undermine judicial independence.