Judicial bill to be combined with democratization package: Deputy PM Atalay

ANKARA

Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay says the new judicial bill will be passed before local elections. AA photo

The bills regarding amendments to the Code on Criminal Procedure (CMK) and abolishment of specially authorized courts (ÖYM) was to be submitted to the presidency of the parliament Feb. 5, Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay said.

The bills would be combined with a democratization package which was waiting in the Constitution Commission of the Parliament, Atalay told reporters.

The bill would be 15-16 articles in total and they aimed at passing it into law before local elections, he added.

They would bring different arrangement for judicial police, for which they would establish a fresh new body, Atalay said noting that the legislation was unlikely to catch local elections.

Detention periods 

Meanwhile, in a separate statement, President Abdullah Gül recalled how he constantly stated particularly in his speeches during the opening of the Parliament that lengthy detentions should not turn into penalties. 

Noting that he hadn’t yet received detailed information about the government’s plans for drafting a bill that would lower the duration of lengthy detentions to five years, Gül said he would make a detailed statement after being informed. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that the period of detentions will be limited to five years with the new package.